The Supreme Court's Un-Americanism Pendulum

Abstract

Examining the Bill of Rights through the post-WWII Red Scare opinions of the Supreme Court reveals an array of strategies of judging and interplay between the judiciary, the legislature, and the electorate. The transitions are more gradual than appointments of justices would suggest and hint toward judicial sensitivity to political undercurrents. Legislative action that mostly failed to pass had full impact on the Court’s majority. The choices of the liberal justices may have undermined their long-term interests.