Supreme Control

Lucas A. Powe, Jr. is the Anne Green Regents Chair in Law and professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. He is the author of numerous books, including The Supreme Court and the American Elite, 1789–2020 (Kansas, 2022).

"This is a magnificent, sweeping history of the Supreme Court and constitutional law from its earliest moments through today. In a very clear and accessible way, Professor Powe has written a book that will inform and entertain both experts and those with little background in constitutional law."—Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law"Lucas A. Powe, Jr. is one of our nation’s most distinguished legal historians, as his writing has indelibly shaped broad swaths of the American constitutional landscape. In Supreme Control, Powe brilliantly excavates and illuminates one of the most important—and yet one of the most underexplored—topics in our constitutional order. This book briskly tells a fresh, arresting story in dazzling prose that are nothing less than a joy to read. All Americans interested in the modern Supreme Court—and how we arrived at this improbable moment—will need to reckon with Powe’s engaging, provocative, and persuasive account."—Justin Driver, author of Washington Post Notable Book of the Year and Editors’ Choice of The New York Times Book Review The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind"Supreme Control lucidly explains how the Supreme Court became so conservative, and better yet, it traces the long history of presidents’ efforts, some more successful than others, to pack the Court with likeminded justices. This is an engaging and informative book by one of our leading historians of the Supreme Court."—Stuart Banner, Norman Abrams Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA, and the author of The Most Powerful Court in the World: A History of the Supreme Court of the United States"With his characteristic clarity, insight, and verve, Lucas Powe has provided an invaluable history of the Supreme Court from the New Deal to the start of the Trump era. Neither politics nor law is neglected in accounting for the actions of the Court and their significance. If you want to understand the modern Court and its place in our politics, this book is an excellent place to start."—Keith Whittington, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics, Princeton University, and author of Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present"In a lively and engaging narrative, Lucas Powe draws on expansive learning to chronicle the long-running conflict over control of the Supreme Court. Rich with detail, he illuminates how, over many decades of struggle and strife, we have arrived at such a politically charged moment in the Court's history. A valuable read for those searching for the historical roots of our explosive present."—Jonathan Gienapp, Associate Professor of History and Law, Nehal and Jenny Fan Raj Civics Faculty Fellow in Undergraduate Teaching, Stanford University