250 Years of Bad Decisions: SCOTUS, the Civil War, and the End of Reconstruction
Summary
Hosts Peter, Rhiannon, and Michael welcome Penn Law professor Kermit Roosevelt to launch a series on America’s worst Supreme Court decisions. They analyze pre-Civil War and Reconstruction-era cases, including Dred Scott, Slaughterhouse, and Plessy v. Ferguson. The discussion explores how the Court undermined civil rights and facilitated the rise of Jim Crow laws.
Topics discussed
Introduction and guest welcome
Overview of the episode's focus on pre-Civil War cases
Dred Scott v. Sandford and the Missouri Compromise
Reconstruction Amendments and the Slaughterhouse Cases
The Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Cases and the rise of Jim Crow
Plessy v. Ferguson and separate but equal
Guinn v. United States and voting rights suppression
Conclusion: The Supreme Court's role in national identity
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