Primary Sources

Eisenhower, Dwight D.  Mandate for Change: 1953-1956.  New York: Signet, 1963.
Eisenhower’s memoirs reveal his skepticism at Warren’s ability to unify the Court and the criteria he used in choosing Warren as Chief Justice.

Ferrell, Robert H., ed. The Eisenhower Diaries.  New York: WW Norton and Company, 1981.
As is evident by the title, this volume provides a real insider look at Eisenhower.  One entry in late January 1956 suggests that Eisenhower had his suspicions about Warren extending beyond Brown.  He hints at his displeasure at the Supreme Court’s decision and suggests that desegregation may impede progress in school legislation.  I love examining diaries for historical clues; I think they supply some of the greatest insight.

Fraser, James W., ed. The School in the United States: A Documentary History. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2001.
Provides the full context of the Clark report, which Warren largely based his opinion on.  Cites Warren and his hard work in achieving unanimity and “dramatic social order.”

Ike’s Letters to a Friend, 1941-1958.  Edited by Robert Griffith.  Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 1984.
A compilation of Eisenhower’s letters to life-long friend, Dr. Everett Hazlett.  In several letters, Eisenhower reveals his initial misapprehension of Warren.

Martin, Waldo E., ed. Brown v. Board of Education: A Brief History with Documents.  Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 1998.
An anthology of documents pertaining to the Brown case.  Includes the cases of Sweatt and McLaurin, which set the precedent for the 1954 ruling.

The Public Papers of Chief Justice Earl Warren.  Edited by Henry Christman.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1959.
A smaller collection of Warren’s court decisions, public speeches, and published articles and papers provided me with a reasonable (and not so overwhelming) look at Warren.  One such speech within this compilation was a direct retort to one of Eisenhower’s addresses in which he outright proclaims that “the power of example is far more forceful” as if to mock the Chief Executive.  This was most surprising to me.

Warren, Earl.  The Memoirs of Earl Warren.  New York: Doubleday, 1977.
This candid book reveals Eisenhower’s disappointment with Warren in one conversation where the President tells the Chief Justice he “mistakenly thought he was moderate…but had since concluded otherwise.”  Warren also shares his rationale behind the decision in Brown II and despite the criticism from Eisenhower, compliments him for his role in the development of the Civil Rights Commission.

Whitman, Mark, ed.  Removing a Badge of Slavery: The Record of Brown v. Board of Education.  Princeton,
    NJ: Markus Wiener Publishing, 1993.
A collection of all related documents to Brown, both those that precede and follow the 1954 Supreme Court ruling.  Examines Warren's preoccupation with morality applied to courtroom practices.
 

Major Secondary Source

Kluger, Richard.  Simple Justice.  New York: Vintage Books, 1975.
This book is far and away the most comprehensive secondary source on this topic.  For those less familiar with Brown, Kluger does an amazing job of providing an extensive historical context.  The book’s narrative format makes the read enjoyable, more so than one couched in legal terms.  The reader is afforded a look into quite a few of the key players’ heads—Marshall, Warren, and others.  Kluger’s research is extensive and incredibly thorough, utilizing hundreds of interviews, articles, court documents, letters, and books as source material.  Simple Justice goes into such pain-staking detail, one could read for days and still have difficulty sifting through all of the information.  In one chapter entitled "The Arrival of the Superchief," Kluger contends after providing much support that Warren was "the ultimate framer of just solutions to profound disputes."  I would agree.  His warm, friendly personality and charm were merely the beginning.  surface to Warren's success in Brown; he had an uncanny knack in achieving compromise.
 

Additional Secondary Source(s)

Alexander, Charles C.  Holding the Line: The Eisenhower Era, 1952-1961.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1975.
Attributes the similar successes of both Eisenhower and Warren to their like personalities.  Emphasizes Eisenhower’s disinterest in using his power to enforce the Court’s ruling and elaborates at some length about his lack of enthusiasm with regards to desegregation.

Balkin, Jack M., ed. What Brown v. Board Should Have Said: The Nation’s Top Legal Experts Rewrite America’s Landmark Civil Rights
           Decision.  New York: New York University Press, 2002.
Examines the division prior to Warren’s appointment and then closely analyzes Warren’s success in achieving unanimity as in a three-step process.

Burk, Robert Frederick.  The Eisenhower Administration and Black Civil Rights.  Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1984.
This book shed some very interesting light on the relationship between Eisenhower and Warren.  I was fascinated to discover that Eisenhower initially defended Warren’s appointment to some of his more conservative political opponents.  Burk details at length one of the most telling incidents between the two men at a White House dinner with segregationist lawyer for the case, John Davis.

Cray, Ed.  Chief Justice.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997.
In this well-written biography, Cray provides his readers with a complete examination of Earl Warren, from childhood to death.  Quite obviously, this biography focused primarily on the life of Warren, which aided me greatly in my research.  In many of the other scholarly sources I used, studies of Warren were interwoven with other critical figures in the Court case; in this book, I was able to get an in-depth look at the man underneath the robe.  Cray uses the Earl Warren papers, in addition to his memoirs, as source material to his credit.

Duram, James C. A Moderate Among Extremists: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the School Desegregation Crisis.  Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1981.
Looks at Southern criticism of the decision and its effects on the Eisenhower administration.  Highlights Warren’s criticism of Eisenhower for his general lack of leadership in civil rights.

Freyer, Tony.  The Little Rock Crisis: A Constitutional Interpretation.  Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984.
Closely investigates the Court’s decision-making process, with emphasis on Warren’s departure from the norm in utilizing the Clark report as a basis for his opinion.

Irons, Peter.  Jim Crow’s Children: The Broken Promise of the Brown Decision.  New York: Viking, 2002.
This book’s narrative format makes for an easy read.  Notes Warren’s persistence and ability to win over his colleagues with his demeanor and charm.

Patterson, James T.  Brown v. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and its Troubled Legacy.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
An in-depth look at race relations pre-Brown, during Brown, and post-Brown.  Patterson examines the time leading up to the Court’s decision in great detail in a stylistically beautiful manner.

Sitkoff, Howard.  The Struggle For Black Equality: 1954-1992.  New York: Hill and Wang, 1993.
This book attempts to grapple with the cost of unanimity by first providing a context for the divided court and then examining Warren’s need to wait for concurrence.  Develops into a criticism of the lasting effects of the civil rights movement in a modern light.

Thernstrom, Stephan, and Abigail Thernstrom.  America In Black and White, One Nation Indivisible.  New York: Touchstone, 1997.
From a more conservative perspective, this book touches briefly upon Warren’s admiration for Justice Harlan and the role this admiration played in the Brown decision.

Tushnet, Mark V.  The NAACP’s Legal Strategy vs. Segregated Education: 1925-1950. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1987.
Details the success of the NAACP in delaying the Brown ruling, provides a context for prior rulings in favor of civil rights.
 
 
 

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