New in paperback
The Chief Justiceship of
Melville W. Fuller, 1888–1910
James W. Ely, Jr.
In this comprehensive interpretation of the Supreme Court during the pivotal tenure of
Melville W. Fuller, James W. Ely Jr., provides a judicial biography of the man who led the
Court from 1888 until 1910 as well as a comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the
jurisprudence dispensed under his leadership. Highlighting Fuller’s skills as a judicial
administrator, Ely argues that a commitment to economic liberty, the security of private property, limited government, and states’ rights guided Fuller and his colleagues
in their treatment of constitutional issues.
Ely directly challenges the conventional idea that the Fuller Court adopted laissezfaire principles in order to serve the needs of business. Rather Ely presents the Supreme
Court’s efforts to safeguard economic rights not as a single-minded devotion to corporate interests but as a fulfillment of the property-conscious values that shaped the
constitution-making process in 1787. The resulting study illuminates a range of related
legal issues, including the Supreme Court’s handling of race relations, criminal justice,
governmental authority, and private law disputes.
Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court • Herbert A. Johnson, series editor
November 2012, 264 pages
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James W. Ely Jr. is the Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law emeritus
and a professor of history emeritus at
Vanderbilt University. He is the author
or editor of sixteen books, including
The Guardian of Every Other Right: A
Constitutional History of Property Rights,
Railroads and American Law, The Oxford
Companion to the Supreme Court of the
United States, and The Bill of Rights in
Modern America.
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