History of the Supreme Court of the United States

In this supplement to Volume 7 of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the Supreme Court of the United States, Charles Fairman examines the Electoral Commission of 1877, which was headed by Justice Joseph P. Bradley. In the disputed presidential election of 1876, the Supreme Court was involved through the appointment of five justices to the commission of fifteen created by Congress to resolve the stalemate arising from the political division between the Senate and House. Divided seven to seven along party lines, the decisive vote and opinion was that of the member appointed for judicial impartiality, Justice Bradley. In his study of the Electoral Commission of 1877, Fairman sheds new light on this controversial historical event, vindicating Justice Bradley against his detractors. This book represents an important revision of conventional narratives of the Electoral Commission, combining intensive research with all the fascination of a detective story.