Reconsidering Roosevelt on Race: How the Presidency Paved the Road to Brown
University of Chicago Press, 2003
Paper: 978-0-226-50088-1 | eISBN: 978-0-226-56112-7 | Cloth: 978-0-226-50086-7
Library of Congress Classification E807.M38 2004
Dewey Decimal Classification 323.119607300904
Paper: 978-0-226-50088-1 | eISBN: 978-0-226-56112-7 | Cloth: 978-0-226-50086-7
Library of Congress Classification E807.M38 2004
Dewey Decimal Classification 323.119607300904
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ABOUT THIS BOOK
Many have questioned FDR's record on race, suggesting that he had the opportunity but not the will to advance the civil rights of African Americans. Kevin J. McMahon challenges this view, arguing instead that Roosevelt's administration played a crucial role in the Supreme Court's increasing commitment to racial equality—which culminated in its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
McMahon shows how FDR's attempt to strengthen the presidency and undermine the power of conservative Southern Democrats dovetailed with his efforts to seek racial equality through the federal courts. By appointing a majority of rights-based liberals deferential to presidential power, Roosevelt ensured that the Supreme Court would be receptive to civil rights claims, especially when those claims had the support of the executive branch.
McMahon shows how FDR's attempt to strengthen the presidency and undermine the power of conservative Southern Democrats dovetailed with his efforts to seek racial equality through the federal courts. By appointing a majority of rights-based liberals deferential to presidential power, Roosevelt ensured that the Supreme Court would be receptive to civil rights claims, especially when those claims had the support of the executive branch.
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