TO ESTABLISH JUSTICE

Working with an attorney, McKissack focuses on significant Supreme Court decisions in this revealing study of the US Constitution’s long, evolving role as an instrument for the promotion of civil and human rights. In topical, but also generally chronological, chapters, the authors move from the Cherokee Removal to the growth of “apartheid” after the Civil War, through the creation of “concentration camps” for Japanese-Americans in WWII, to controversies over voting rights, and, more recently, rights of gay, lesbian, and disabled people. Pointing out several instances in which the Court has issued contradictory judgments—sometimes only a few years apart—or worked to narrow individual rights rather than broaden them, the authors present a compelling mix of analyses and quoted passages from judicial opinions to demonstrate that the Constitution and the Court are both flexible entities, sometimes ahead of the curve of change, sometimes behind. Current enough to include the rejection in 2003 of the Texas sodomy law, illustrated with a mix of telling photos, documents, and political cartoons, this will give serious students of this country’s legal foundations plenty of food for thought. (documents, reading lists, index) (Nonfiction. 11-15)