Go to Hachette Book Group home

Search

Site Preferences

Show prices in:

Promotion

Use code DAD23 for 20% off + Free shipping on $45+ Shop Now!

PublicAffairs

The Great Decision

Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court

The Great Decision Open the full-size image

Contributors

By Cliff Sloan

By David McKean

Formats and Prices

Price

$21.99

Price

$28.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Trade Paperback $21.99 $28.99 CAD
  2. ebook $9.99 $12.99 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around March 2, 2010. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

Also available from:

In 1800, the United States teetered on the brink of a second revolution. The presidential election between Adams and Jefferson was a bitterly contested tie, and the government neared collapse. The Supreme Court had no clear purpose or power — no one had even thought to build it a courtroom in the new capital city. When Adams sought to prolong his policies in defiance of the electorate by packing the courts, the fine words of the new Constitution could do nothing to stop him. It would take a man to make those words good, and America found him in John Marshall.

The Great Decision tells the riveting story of Marshall and of the landmark court case, Marbury v. Madison, through which he empowered the Supreme Court and transformed the idea of the separation of powers into a working blueprint for our modern state. Rich in atmospheric detail, political intrigue, and fascinating characters, The Great Decision is an illuminating tale of America’s formative years and of the evolution of our democracy.

Genre:

On Sale
Mar 2, 2010
Page Count
288 pages
Publisher
PublicAffairs
ISBN-13
9781586488055

You May Also Like

Civil War by Other Means
Civil War by Other Means $30.00 $38.00 CAD
The Bone and Sinew of the Land
The Bone and Sinew of the Land $28.00 $36.50 CAD
American Crucifixion
American Crucifixion $21.99 $28.99 CAD
The Dawn of Innovation
The Dawn of Innovation $24.99 $31.99 CAD
Jefferson's War
Jefferson's War $24.99 $31.99 CAD

Cliff Sloan

About the Author

Cliff Sloan is a former Supreme Court clerk. He has written about the Supreme Court for many publications, including Newsweek, The Washington Post, and Slate.

Learn more about this author

David McKean

About the Author

David McKean is director of Policy Planning for the US Department of State. He is the author of three previous books on American political history: Friends in High Places with Douglas Frantz (Little, Brown and Co.), a New York Times Notable Book; Tommy the Cork (Steerforth Press), a Washington Post Book World cover and Best Book; and The Great Decision with Cliff Sloan (PublicAffairs), a History Book of the Month Club selection.

McKean is a board member of the Foundation for the National Archives. In 2011, he was a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He previously served as CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston. Prior to that, McKean was the staff director for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was chief of staff in Senator John Kerry’s personal office from 1999 to 2008.

Mr. McKean was a key player in laying the groundwork for the Senator’s presidential campaign in 2004 and was a cochairman of the senator’s presidential transition team. In 1997 and 1998, he served as the minority staff director for the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. David McKean taught at the Waterford Kamhlaba School in Swaziland from 1981-1982.

Learn more about this author

Follow PublicAffairs: