Race and Rights, 1920-2000
53 Pages Posted: 21 Nov 2003
Date Written: December 2003
Abstract
This essay, which is a contribution to the Cambridge History of Law in America, Volume 3 (1920-2000), summarizes the Supreme Court's racial jurisprudence from 1920 to the present. The essay's primary interpretive focus is on situating the Court's decisions in the social and political context of the times and on evaluating the consequences - direct and indirect - of the rulings. The essay concludes by deriving some general lessons from this history: the extent to which the Supreme Court systematically favors the interests of racial minorities, the circumstances under which Court rulings are likely to prove efficacious, and the extent to which such decisions are likely to deviate from popular opinion.
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