Eisenhower vs. Warren
Subtitle: the battle for civil rights and liberties
By: James F. Simon
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 427
ISBN-13: 9780871407559
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Politics and government; School integration; Civil rights movements; Civil rights; African Americans; History
Other titles: Eisenhower versus Warren
Description: "The bitter feud between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Chief Justice Earl Warren framed the tumultuous future of the modern civil rights movement. Eisenhower was a gradualist who wanted to coax white Americans in the South into eventually accepting integration, while Warren, author of the Supreme Court's historic unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education, demanded immediate action to dismantle the segregation of the public school system. In Eisenhower vs. Warren, two-time New York Times Notable Book author James F. Simon examines the years of strife between them that led Eisenhower to say that his biggest mistake as president was appointing that "dumb son of a bitch Earl Warren." This momentous, poisonous relationship is presented here at last in one volume. Compellingly written, Eisenhower vs. Warren brings to vivid life the clash that continues to reverberate in political and constitutional debates today"--

"President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Chief Justice Earl Warren were two of the most revered American leaders of the twentieth century. Yet, when it came to the protection of basic civil rights and liberties, they staunchly disagreed on how best to move into an uncertain future--and their disagreements disintegrated into mutual suspicion and harsh recriminations. In Eisenhower vs. Warren, prize-winning legal historian James F. Simon examines the years of strife between them that led Eisenhower to say that his biggest mistake as president was appointing that "dumb son of a bitch Earl Warren." Warren, author of the Supreme Court's historic, unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education, had demanded immediate action to dismantle the segregation of the public school system, while Eisenhower, who had built his reputation as a brilliant tactician and consensus builder in World War II, wanted to coax white Americans in the South into eventually accepting integration. This bitter, previously underexamined feud would do nothing less than frame the tumultuous future of the modern civil rights movement. Eisenhower's "middle way" approach produced tangible long-term results, such as desegregating the military and naval yards and appointing judges at all levels in the federal court system who supported desegregation, but he was tight-lipped in public and withheld the loud endorsement of the Brown decision that Warren believed was necessary. Evolving from a broadly popular California politician known for working well with allies on both sides of the aisle, Chief Justice Warren, in one of the most astonishing transformations in American political history, became a crusader on the bench. In the age of McCarthy, Warren's defense of the civil liberties of suspected subversives demonstrated his broad vision of the Constitution's protections. With the remarkable insight and nuanced legal analysis for which he is known, Simon delves into Eisenhower's and Warren's archival records and individual histories to reevaluate their legacies, demonstrating how critical the feud is to our understanding of the civil rights movement. "With clear-eyed judiciousness and a subtle feel for the nuances of hard decision-making" (Evan Thomas ...), Eisenhower vs. Warren brings to vivid life a clash of titans that still reverberates in political and constitutional debates today."--Dust jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 389-412) and index.
Table of contents: title: Man of the West; title: Supreme Commander; title: "Loyalty comes first"; title: Eyes on the White House; title: "To my mind, he is a statesman"; title: A list of 205 communists; title: "This is a day that will live in glory"; title: "With all deliberate speed"; title: Double-crossing Ike; title: Red Monday; title: Little Rock; title: The egalitarian revolution.