Synopsis

Although Populist candidate William Jennings Bryan lost the presidential elections of 1896, 1900, and 1908, he was the most influential political figure of his era. In this astutely argued book, Gerard N. Magliocca explores how Bryan's effort to reach the White House energized conservatives across the nation and caused a transformation in constitutional law.

Responding negatively to the Populist agenda, the Supreme Court established a host of new constitutional principles during the 1890s. Many of them proved long-lasting and highly consequential, including the "separate but equal" doctrine supporting racial segregation, the authorization of the use of force against striking workers, and the creation of the liberty of contract. The judicial backlash of the 1890s—the most powerful the United States has ever experienced—illustrates vividly the risks of seeking fundamental social change. Magliocca concludes by examining the lessons of the Populist experience for advocates of change in our own divisive times.

Library Journal

Magliocca (law, Indiana Univ.) focuses on the failed career of three-time Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan to describe a pattern of Supreme Court obstructionism against the rising Populist movement of the late 19th century. The author theorizes that the high court, at any given moment in history, is more a reflection of the political, economic, and social values of a previous generation than a reflection of the prevailing thought of the current era. Thus, he concludes, the development of a contemporary constitutional theory lags behind political evolution and prevents the latter from maturing to the level that a progressive society demands. Magliocca argues that such judicial obstruction inhibited progressive political movement and, in the case of Bryan, fed the notion that the level of social change promoted by the Populist movement and its most outspoken advocate was unsupported by constitutional theory and therefore inherently undesirable. The author shows how the Republicans seized upon this flawed concept and used it to their advantage. VERDICT Aimed at an academic audience and well documented, this book is replete with analysis of the legal and political issues involved.—Philip Y. Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Lib., New York

Biography

Gerard N. Magliocca is professor of law, Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis. He lives in Indianapolis.