An Unfinished Revolution: Reapportionment and the Quest for Democracy in 20th-Century America
FAIN: FB-52686-06
J. Douglas Smith
Unaffiliated Independent Scholar (Los Angeles, CA 90068-2726)
When asked the most important issue decided by his Court, Chief Justice Earl Warren cited Baker v. Carr (1962), Reynolds v. Sims (1964), and a series of companion cases that established the principle of “one-person, one-vote” in all congressional and state legislative apportionments. Despite the importance of these cases, not one full-length monograph has appeared in print in nearly thirty-five years. During that time, numerous relevant sources have become available. Envisioned as a sweeping political and social history, this study will examine not only why the reapportionment decisions mattered as much as Warren claimed, but also how, ironically, the decisions came to matter in ways that Warren never anticipated.
Media Coverage
Landmark Cases Series: Baker v. Carr (Media Coverage)
Publication: CSPAN
Date: 12/7/2015
Abstract: Featured guest
URL: http://landmarkcases.c-span.org/Case/10/Baker-V-Carr
Slate's Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick (Media Coverage)
Publication: Slate.com
Date: 6/13/2016
URL: http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/amicus/2015/06/a_spotlight_on_clarence_thomas_and_an_explainer_on_one_person_one_vote.html
"The Political Thicket" (Media Coverage)
Publication: WNYC, Radiolab
Date: 6/10/2016
URL: http://www.wnyc.org/story/the-political-thicket/
Henry Adams Prize, 2015 (Media Coverage)
Publication: Society for History in the Federal Government
Date: 7/20/2016