When the Letter Betrays the Spirit

Voting Rights Enforcement and African American Participation from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, Civil Rights, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book When the Letter Betrays the Spirit by Tyson D. King-Meadows, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tyson D. King-Meadows ISBN: 9780739149140
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: September 16, 2011
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Tyson D. King-Meadows
ISBN: 9780739149140
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: September 16, 2011
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

When the Letter Betrays the Spirit examines the wide latitude provided to the executive branch and to the Supreme Court by the text of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Drawing from government enforcement data, legislative history, Supreme Court rulings, the 2006 reauthorization debate on the VRA, and from the 2007 scandal involving the firing of U.S. attorneys under the Bush Administration, the book examines when, why, and how executive and judicial discretion facilitates violation of voting rights. Connecting Johnson to Obama, the book outlines why the executive-centered model of voting rights enforcement relegates Congress to the sidelines, and outlines why a Congress-centered approach provides the best protection against the effects of the law enforcement axiom: the law is neither self-executing nor self-interpreting. The book also examines 2008 survey results about public support for a Jim Crow-era election reform policy that would require voters to read a passage of the Constitution. Describing the civic literacy dimensions of voting rights law from Shaw v. Reno (1993) to Northwest Austin Utility v. Holder (2009), the book highlights the complicated nature of the post-racial rhetoric surrounding the 2008 election cycle and surrounding the upcoming post-2010 census redistricting cycles.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

When the Letter Betrays the Spirit examines the wide latitude provided to the executive branch and to the Supreme Court by the text of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Drawing from government enforcement data, legislative history, Supreme Court rulings, the 2006 reauthorization debate on the VRA, and from the 2007 scandal involving the firing of U.S. attorneys under the Bush Administration, the book examines when, why, and how executive and judicial discretion facilitates violation of voting rights. Connecting Johnson to Obama, the book outlines why the executive-centered model of voting rights enforcement relegates Congress to the sidelines, and outlines why a Congress-centered approach provides the best protection against the effects of the law enforcement axiom: the law is neither self-executing nor self-interpreting. The book also examines 2008 survey results about public support for a Jim Crow-era election reform policy that would require voters to read a passage of the Constitution. Describing the civic literacy dimensions of voting rights law from Shaw v. Reno (1993) to Northwest Austin Utility v. Holder (2009), the book highlights the complicated nature of the post-racial rhetoric surrounding the 2008 election cycle and surrounding the upcoming post-2010 census redistricting cycles.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book The Principle of the Separation of Powers by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book China's Unequal Treaties by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Military Resilience in Low-Intensity Conflict by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Rethinking Post-Communist Rhetoric by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Limited Government and the Death of God by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book The Influence of the European Culture on Hemingway’s Fiction by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book America's Growing Inequality by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Creating Engagement between Schools and their Communities by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Society, History, and the Global Human Condition by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Cowboy Politics by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Naming Jhumpa Lahiri by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Pragmatist Variations on Ethical and Intercultural Life by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Visits With Lincoln by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book The Poetic Character of Human Activity by Tyson D. King-Meadows
Cover of the book Human Ecodynamics in the North Atlantic by Tyson D. King-Meadows
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy