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Democratic justice : Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court, and the making of the liberal establishment / Brad Snyder.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2022]Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First editionDescription: 979 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white) ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781324004875
  • 1324004878
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Miss Hogan -- A quasi-religious feeling -- The dominant impulses of your nature -- The house of truth -- To a man, we want Frankfurter -- Not Brandeis's fight, but our fight -- These days we are all soldiers -- Personalia in Paris -- A dangerous man -- The possible gain isn't worth the cost -- The true function of a "liberal" -- Let Mr. Lowell resign -- The most useful lawyer in the United States -- From the outside -- The happy hot dogs -- Charming exile -- The most influential single individual in the United States -- An awful shock -- Sorta tough ain't it! -- The oddest collection of people -- The Brandeis way -- Preaching the true democratic faith -- Uncle Felix and Aunt Marion -- F.F.'s soliloquy -- A great enemy of liberalism -- Race, redemption, and Roosevelt -- The real architect of the victory -- Frankfurter against black -- My eyes hath seen the glory of the coming of the Lord -- I don't care what color a man has -- The Frankfurter cult on trial -- The first solid piece of evidence there really is a God -- The wise use of time -- All deliberate speed -- Red Monday -- The judicial response to Little Rock -- A health scare -- The political thicket -- Father to them all.
Summary: "The definitive biography of Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court justice and champion of twentieth-century American liberal democracy. Scholars have portrayed Felix Frankfurter-Harvard law professor and Supreme Court justice-as a judicial failure, a liberal lawyer turned conservative justice, and Warren Court villain. Yet as Brad Snyder reveals, Frankfurter was a pro-government, pro-civil rights liberal. He helped found the ACLU, rejected shifting political labels, and practiced judicial restraint. A disciple of Oliver Wendell Holmes and a protégé of Louis Brandeis, he thrived as a power broker for FDR and as a talent scout for the liberal establishment. (Former students and clerks included Dean Acheson, Elliot Richardson, and Richard Goodwin.) This sweeping narrative illuminates how an Austrian immigrant befriended presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson, led calls for a new trial for Sacco and Vanzetti, and helped achieve a unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education. The result is a full and fascinating portrait of a lawyer and Supreme Court justice who championed democracy"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography FRANKFUR F. S675 Available 33111010882807
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The conventional wisdom about Felix Frankfurter--Harvard law professor and Supreme Court justice--is that he struggled to fill the seat once held by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Scholars have portrayed Frankfurter as a judicial failure, a liberal lawyer turned conservative justice, and the Warren Court's principal villain. And yet none of these characterizations rings true.

A pro-government, pro-civil rights liberal who rejected shifting political labels, Frankfurter advocated for judicial restraint--he believed that people should seek change not from the courts but through the democratic political process. Indeed, he knew American presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson, advised Franklin Roosevelt, and inspired his students and law clerks to enter government service.

Organized around presidential administrations and major political and world events, this definitive biography chronicles Frankfurter's impact on American life. As a young government lawyer, he befriended Theodore Roosevelt, Louis Brandeis, and Holmes. As a Harvard law professor, he earned fame as a civil libertarian, Zionist, and New Deal power broker. As a justice, he hired the first African American law clerk and helped the Court achieve unanimity in outlawing racially segregated schools in Brown v. Board of Education.

In this sweeping narrative, Brad Snyder offers a full and fascinating portrait of the remarkable life and legacy of a long misunderstood American figure. This is the biography of an Austrian Jewish immigrant who arrived in the United States at age eleven speaking not a word of English, who by age twenty-six befriended former president Theodore Roosevelt, and who by age fifty was one of Franklin Roosevelt's most trusted advisers. It is the story of a man devoted to democratic ideals, a natural orator and often overbearing justice, whose passion allowed him to amass highly influential friends and helped create the liberal establishment.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 917-934) and index.

Miss Hogan -- A quasi-religious feeling -- The dominant impulses of your nature -- The house of truth -- To a man, we want Frankfurter -- Not Brandeis's fight, but our fight -- These days we are all soldiers -- Personalia in Paris -- A dangerous man -- The possible gain isn't worth the cost -- The true function of a "liberal" -- Let Mr. Lowell resign -- The most useful lawyer in the United States -- From the outside -- The happy hot dogs -- Charming exile -- The most influential single individual in the United States -- An awful shock -- Sorta tough ain't it! -- The oddest collection of people -- The Brandeis way -- Preaching the true democratic faith -- Uncle Felix and Aunt Marion -- F.F.'s soliloquy -- A great enemy of liberalism -- Race, redemption, and Roosevelt -- The real architect of the victory -- Frankfurter against black -- My eyes hath seen the glory of the coming of the Lord -- I don't care what color a man has -- The Frankfurter cult on trial -- The first solid piece of evidence there really is a God -- The wise use of time -- All deliberate speed -- Red Monday -- The judicial response to Little Rock -- A health scare -- The political thicket -- Father to them all.

"The definitive biography of Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court justice and champion of twentieth-century American liberal democracy. Scholars have portrayed Felix Frankfurter-Harvard law professor and Supreme Court justice-as a judicial failure, a liberal lawyer turned conservative justice, and Warren Court villain. Yet as Brad Snyder reveals, Frankfurter was a pro-government, pro-civil rights liberal. He helped found the ACLU, rejected shifting political labels, and practiced judicial restraint. A disciple of Oliver Wendell Holmes and a protégé of Louis Brandeis, he thrived as a power broker for FDR and as a talent scout for the liberal establishment. (Former students and clerks included Dean Acheson, Elliot Richardson, and Richard Goodwin.) This sweeping narrative illuminates how an Austrian immigrant befriended presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson, led calls for a new trial for Sacco and Vanzetti, and helped achieve a unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education. The result is a full and fascinating portrait of a lawyer and Supreme Court justice who championed democracy"-- Provided by publisher.

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