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On Account of Race: The Supreme Court, White Supremacy, and the Ravaging of African American Voting Rights Hardcover – May 5, 2020

by Lawrence Goldstone (Author)

4.9 31 ratings

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An award-winning constitutional law historian examines case-based evidence of the court's longstanding support for white supremacy (often under the guise of "states rights") to reveal how that bias has allowed the court to solidify its position as arguably the most powerful branch of the federal government.

One promise of democracy is the right of every citizen to vote. And yet, from our founding, strong political forces were determined to limit that right. The Supreme Court, Alexander Hamilton wrote, would protect the weak against this very sort of tyranny. Still, as On Account of Race forcefully demonstrates, through the better part of American history the Court has instead been a protector of white rule. And complex threats against the right to vote persist even today.

Beginning in 1876, the Supreme Court systematically dismantled both the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment and what seemed to be the right to vote in the Fifteenth. And so a half million African Americans across the South who had risked their lives and property to be allowed to cast ballots were stricken from voting rolls by white supremacists. This vacuum allowed for the rise of Jim Crow. None of this was done in the shadows―those determined to wrest the vote from black Americans could not have been more boastful in either intent or execution.

On Account of Race tells the story of an American tragedy, the only occasion in United States history in which a group of citizens who had been granted the right to vote then had it stripped away. It is a warning that the right to vote is fragile and must be carefully guarded and actively preserved lest American democracy perish.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Counterpoint
Publication date

May 5, 2020
Dimensions

6.4 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches
ISBN-10

1640093923
ISBN-13

978-1640093928
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“On Account of Race reveals the ways in which the U.S. Supreme Court has, time and again, upheld white supremacy at the expense of voters of color.” —K. W. Colyard, Bustle

“Lucid legal history . . . Sketches the contours and ramifications of each case skillfully, boldly critiquing the legal reasoning behind the majority opinions. This well–sourced and accessible account makes a convincing case that America’s highest court played a key role in stalling black progress for a century.” —Publishers Weekly

“An expert on constitutional law skewers the U.S. Supreme Court for its failure to strike down practices that disenfranchise black citizens . . . A persuasive case that history matters and that the past is prologue.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A thought–provoking book about some of the tragic twists and turns of race in the Supreme Court post–Civil War. This is a significant conversation.” —Jay Winik, bestselling author of April 1865 and 1944

“In a book both reasonable and readable, Lawrence Goldstone effectively challenges the convenient mythology that racial segregation was a policy reflecting merely the isolated prejudices of the southern American states in the post–Civil War era. His main focus is the U.S. Supreme Court and the peculiar, absurdly twisted logic across a series of critical cases by which the justices undermined the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, systematically legitimating Jim Crow. The lesson is clear: that voting and other basic rights, unless broadly defended, can rest on fragile foundations indeed.” —Ronald King, professor of political science at San Diego State University and coauthor of Removal of the Property Qualification for Voting in the United States

“No right is more important than the vote. Yet in this engaging and highly readable book, Lawrence Goldstone shows how the Supreme Court, the supposed guardian of our fundamental rights, has repeatedly failed to protect this right for the most vulnerable Americans. With an eye for detail and irony, Goldstone uncovers the dramatic stories behind the cases in which the Court left racial minorities to fend for themselves in a hostile democracy.” —Adam Winkler, professor at UCLA School of Law and National Book Award finalist for We the Corporations

“Skillfully and with measured patience, deep insight, and extraordinary attention to primary source evidence charts the course of the United States Supreme Court’s abandonment of African American Fifteenth Amendment voting rights and Fourteenth Amendment equality under the law civil rights. In a compelling manner, Goldstone lays bare the glaring and in many instances jarring evidence of the brutal physical suppression of African Americans in the post–Civil War South by white “Redeemers,” and the High Court’s serendipitous avoidance of the evidence of sustained discrimination against especially African Americans seeking to use their civil and voting rights. Goldstone’s meticulous research brings forward the numerous cases brought before the Court by African American litigants seeking redress, even as he demonstrates persuasively that African Americans had no ally in the High Court as they and the relatively small numbers of whites who supported them sought to realize the equality promised them by Reconstruction Era amendments to the nation’s Constitution.” —Marsha J. Tyson Darling, PhD, director of African, Black and Caribbean studies at Adelphi University and editor of Race, Voting, Redistricting and the Constitution

“A careful and brilliant analysis of the effort of the Southern states to deprive the African American population of the right to vote after Reconstruction ended in 1877. There was no disguise of their purpose and no restriction on the method they used. From the grandfather clause or poll taxes or literacy tests, whatever could be used to block African Americans from voting was openly and emphatically applied. The white population was simply determined to keep the ballot box for themselves. Goldstone shows how the courts refused to interfere in any way with this program. Even such noteworthy judges as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes approved the effort. The book carefully examines the campaign, which lasted almost one hundred years until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.” —Leon Friedman, Joseph Kushner Distinguished Professor of Civil Liberties Law at Hofstra University

Book Description

Marketing:

Robust academic marketing campaign
Indie bookseller outreach and Indie Next campaign [deadline: 3/4/2020]
Outreach to NEIBA/NAIBA region (author is based in New York)
Library outreach and LibraryReads campaign [deadline: 4/1/2020]
ARCs available at ALA Midwinter, FYE 2020, and PLA
Major outreach to community organizations, churches, and advocacy groups
Influencer marketing

Publicity Plans:
National print and broadcast campaign including NPR
Targeted outreach to critics and outlets focused on politics/current events, social justice
Interviews with political podcasts
Targeted outreach to DC media, history/historical publications, and African American publications
Author promotion through website at www.lawrencegoldstone.com

Event Schedule:
Events throughout New York and Washington DC

Tour Schedule:
10/9/20 7:00pm: Reading and book signing at the Shelter Island Public Library, Shelter Island, NY

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Counterpoint (May 5, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1640093923
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1640093928
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,089,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #337 in Civil Rights Law (Books)
- #355 in United States Judicial Branch
- #1,523 in Civil Rights & Liberties (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.9 31 ratings

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Lawrence Goldstone

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Lawrence Goldstone is the author of more than a dozen books of both fiction and non-fiction. Six of those books were co-authored with his wife, Nancy, but they now write separately to save what is left of their dishes.

Goldstone's articles, reviews, and opinion pieces have appeared in, among other publications, the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Hartford Courant, and Berkshire Eagle. He has also written for a number of magazines that have gone bust, although he denies any cause and effect.

His first novel, Rights, won a New American Writing Award but he now cringes at its awkward prose. (Anatomy of Deception, The Astronomer, and Murtro's Niche are much better.)

Despite a seemingly incurable tendency to say what's on his mind (thus mortifying Nancy), Goldstone has been widely interviewed on both radio and television, with appearances on, among others, Diane Rehm (NPR), "Fresh Air" (NPR), "To the Best of Our Knowledge" (NPR), "The Faith Middleton Show" (NPR), "Tavis Smiley" (PBS), and Leonard Lopate (WNYC). His work has also been profiled in The New York Times, The Toronto Star, numerous regional newspapers, Salon, and Slate.

Goldstone holds a PhD in American Constitutional Studies from the New School. His friends thus call him DrG, although he can barely touch the rim. (Sigh. Can't make a layup anymore either.) He and his beloved bride founded and ran an innovative series of parent-child book groups, which they documented in Deconstructing Penguins. He has also been a teacher, lecturer, senior member of a Wall Street trading firm, taxi driver, actor, quiz show contestant, and policy analyst at the Hudson Institute.

He is an unerring stock picker. Everything he buys instantly goes down.

For those with insatiable curiosity, you can learn more at www.lawrencegoldstone.com

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5

31 global ratings

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A. Weatherspoon

History is repeating itself.

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2022

Verified Purchase

This book clearly shows that our country is returning to the time immediately after the Civil War. White Supremacy and Jim Crow are making a comeback and the Supreme Court is being weaponized against the people.

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Diane Lauterbach

This is a most excellent review of race deficits after the 14th and 15th

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2020

Verified Purchase

I loved this book. It is a real eye opener on the 100 years after slavery was abolished to the voting rights act. I am thankful to have the material from this book which is very well written. I would highly recommend as a read for anyone who wants to grasp the gravity of abuse for many years.

2 people found this helpful

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The View

How White Supremacists Gained Control Via The Supreme Court

Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2020

This is a tough read, very academic but very important read. It goes over how Southern Whites steadily reclaimed their power in the US government and through the Supreme Court was steadily were able to mold laws federally and rewrite their state constitutions, which they had been forced to rewrite during Reconstruction. The most effective thing they did was convince the Supreme Court that while the post civil war amendments were federal, the states had the right to run elections and determine who votes. Can’t vil Rights laws were found unconstitutional if they put the “black race” above other citizens. Not supporting the people who were former slaves left the people subjected to the same people who enslaved them without federal assistance. The book gave me more insight into how “conservative “ nominees to the courts use specific language for their decisions that sound not react based while knowing the full effect of their decisions will affect minorities.

One person found this helpful

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Daniel Atkins

Great read.

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022

Verified Purchase

This book opens up worms that were meant to be buried from the public. Good book and plenty information. I am not finished reading it yet.

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