Michigan

Curbing Campaign Cash: Henry Ford, Truman Newberry, and the Politics of Progressive Reform by Paula Baker In the 1918 Michigan race for the U.S. Senate, auto tycoon Henry Ford faced off against a less well-known industrialist, Truman Newberry. Bent on countering Ford's fame and endorsement from President Wilson, Newberry's campaign spent an extravagant amount, in fact much more than the law seemed to allow. This led to his conviction under the Federal Corrupt Practices Act--but also to his eventual exoneration in the first campaign finance case to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Newberry v. United States the Court ruled that Congress had no jurisdiction to regulate primary elections, a controversial decision that allowed southern states to create whites-only primaries and stalled campaign finance reform. In the first book in eight decades on this initial test of federal campaign finance regulations, Paula Baker examines this case study of state and local campaign spending to describe how politicians found their footing in an environment created by progressive reform and invented modern campaigns. Through this seminal election, she pries apart two persistent strains in American political culture: suspicion of money in politics and suspicion of politics itself. In reexamining the story of the 1918 election, Baker takes a broad view of the history of the political reform to probe some of the foundational arguments about why money in politics sometimes seems so corrupt. She follows the controversy as it unfolded--beginning with progressive reform of politics and the remaking of campaigns--then takes readers through the shifting scenes, from Detroit to Washington, where the Ford-Newberry conflict played out. Baker reexamines the political divisions between conservatives and progressive reformers to reveal contradictions in how Progressive Era federal finance regulations worked, with efforts to weaken the power of political parties and democratize politics actually making campaigns more expensive. And although the law opened the door to partisan prosecutions for spending, Congress remained unwilling to craft legislation that actually curbed spending. While legislation in recent decades largely has aimed at contributions rather than spending and the Supreme Court has weighed whether specific limits abridge free speech, Progressive Era ideas about money and politics continue to guide campaign finance reform. Curbing Campaign Cash provides a compelling account of a key chapter in the history of this issue.

Judicial Deceit: Tyranny and Unnecessary Secrecy at the Michigan Supreme Court by Elizabeth A. Weaver, David B. Schock. A winner of the 2015 Historical Society of Michigan Private Printing Award. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth Weaver, who resigned from the court in 2010 after almost 16 years of service – including two years as Chief Justice, has written a detailed plan to overhaul the election process for justices. The need for the reform is outlined in the book, Judicial Deceit: Tyranny and Unnecessary Secrecy at the Michigan Supreme Court. The book is highly critical of the “deceit, tyranny and unnecessary secrecy” of the court. “I feel a compelling duty to the people of Michigan to cast a bright light on the workings of the court, the millions in ‘dark money’ used for campaigns, and the partisanship that can and often does trump justice,” said Weaver. “I could easily have retired to my home in Northern Michigan but I chose to spend the past two years writing the book and, most importantly, a primer called: A Seven-Point-Plan for Michigan Supreme Court Reform.” “The time is now to fix the serious flaws in the election process for justices that are at the core of corrupt practices that inject dark money into the process, partisanship, and secrecy,” said Weaver. “Justice should be blind but blinders should not be placed on the people of Michigan, nor should millions in campaign funds be used to buy outcomes for influential parties. We need transparency and immediate reform.” Weaver says she expects the book will be controversial. Weaver, who co-wrote the book with David B. Schock, Ph.D., a writer, filmmaker, former reporter, editor and college professor.

The Michigan Affirmative Action Cases by Barbara A. Perry In its controversial Bakke decision of 1978, the Supreme Court upheld racial and ethnic diversity in university admissions--but it was not to be the last word on the matter. When Jennifer Gratz and Barbara Grutter challenged the University of Michigan's admission policies because they were passed over in favor of ostensibly less-qualified minority applicants, the Court was once again compelled to address affirmative action. Barbara Perry takes readers behind the scenes to tell the riveting story of how the two rejected applicants allied with conservative interest groups in an attempt to overturn affirmative action programs in higher education-and how in a 5-4 decision Justice Sandra Day O'Connor provided the decisive vote reaffirming Bakke. While the plaintiffs argued that their rights to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act had been violated, the Court in 2003 disagreed and upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action, citing the goal of diversity as a legitimate state interest but also making it clear that there were limits to that interest and the policies to implement it. Drawing on interviews with key figures in the litigation, Perry follows the twists and turns of the district and appellate cases, then reveals the inside story of how Justice O'Connor joined her liberal colleagues to uphold the use of race in university admissions and thereby establish an important new precedent. Perry provides a play-by-play account of the dramatic oral arguments before the Court, explains how the Court's decisions emerged, and reveals how Justice O'Connor's personal, professional, and judicial background brought her to that pivotal moment in legal history. As Perry shows, the Supreme Court's decisions frustrated both conservatives and civil rights advocates, who continue to battle each other when anti-affirmative action initiatives appear on state ballots. Her compelling study helps us understand why affirmative action remains one of our most hotly contested issues.

Payoffs in the Cloakroom: The Greening of the Michigan Legislature, 1938-1946 by Bruce A. Rubenstein; Lawrence E. Ziewacz Payoffs in the Cloakroom is a spellbinding follow-up to Rubenstein and Ziewacz's critically acclaimed Three Bullets Sealed His Lips. Three Bullets brought to life new evidence on the 1945 murder of Michigan Senator Warren Hooper. Payoffs in the Cloakroom takes up where Three Bullets left off, unraveling a complex web of political corruption and dirty state politics. In the process, the authors demonstrate that Senator Hooper was murdered to prevent his grand jury testimony against republican boss Frank McKay, who was facing bribery charges.       Making use of actual court proceeding, personal interviews, and newspaper accounts, and even a re-evaluation of police evidence, Rubenstein and Ziewacz tell a story that contains all the ingredients of first-class detective fiction—only in this instance, the story is based on fact. With chapter titles such as "Charlie and His Little Black Book," "I Never Dreamed Murder," and "Them Bones, Them Bones," the authors have, once again, provided a stimulating and absorbing account of one of the darker chapters of Michigan's political history.

Stewards of the State: The Governors of Michigan by George May; Robert Kirk (Editor); Benjamin J. Burns (Introduction by) Biographical overviews of Michigan's governors, with photographs and illustrations.

William G. Milliken: Michigan's Passionate Moderate by Dave Dempsey William Milliken served as Michigan's governor from 1969-1982, longer than any other Michigan governor present or past. Considered to be a moderate to liberal Republican, Milliken ran the state by building coalitions between the two parties. Although some thought Milliken was too nice to be governor, he was able to rally people to work together for the good of the state. He was always considered a gentleman, one who stayed out of party fracases. Though Milliken has had an amiable reputation, free from, say, the controversy surrounding Bill Clinton, Dempsey is able to bring out the characteristics of Milliken that show his strengths as well as his weaknesses. The author also does a particularly good job in explaining historical events during the time Milliken was governor.

Michigan Supreme Court Historical Reference Guide, 2nd Edition by David Chardavoyne; Paul Moreno This second edition of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Reference Guide contains the biographies of Michigan Supreme Court's justices from its territorial beginnings in 1803 through 2015. It includes summaries of twenty top cases of the Michigan Supreme Court, which contextualize the eras in which the justices were on the bench, giving a greater depth of understanding to both who the justices were and the historical significance of the cases they decided. A rich reference for historians and attorneys, this book also includes valuable charts detailing election dates and candidates as well as court compositions (who served with whom); lists of chief justices and the ten longest--and shortest--serving justices with dates of service; and a history of the structural evolution of the Michigan Supreme Court.