by Adam Winkler
First published 2019
Adam Winkler examines how American corporations acquired constitutional rights across more than four hundred years of legal battles. The author traces this corporate civil rights movement from its origins through the controversial Citizens United decision of 2010, which he positions as the culmination of centuries of legal strategy rather than an isolated ruling. Winkler analyzes diverse court cases and profiles key legal figures including Daniel Webster, Roger Taney, Lewis Powell, and Thurgood Marshall to show how businesses systematically transformed constitutional law. The book reveals the deep historical roots of corporate personhood and explains how companies seized political power by winning legal recognition as persons under the Constitution. Winkler offers readers a comprehensive account of this largely unknown civil rights campaign and its impact on American democracy and constitutional interpretation.
Genres: history, business, american, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, law, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: legal-drama
Setting: United States
Period: 400 Years, 2010
496 pages · Paperback · Liveright