A fresh look at the legacy of Sandra Day O'Connor from hardscrabble childhood in the Arizona desert, to facing adversity as a female in politics, to her work as the first woman Justice on the US Supreme Court.
By being the first woman on the Supreme Court, O'Connor set the stage for future gender equity in America's legal system, becoming one of the most significant people in US history. This accessible analysis of O'Connor's life, examines how her early beginnings in the remote desert of the American Southwest, where her family's ranch was 32 miles from the nearest school, shaped her world view and in turn, decisions at the US Supreme Court that affect us today. At first, she aspired to be a cattle rancher, but instead, went on to enroll at California's Stanford University at the age 16. This biography follows her determination as she overcame prejudice and made history by being appointed to the US Supreme Court in 1981; and it places O'Connor in the context of her times by examining how her decisions on the Supreme Court helped to move the country forward and continue to impact us today.
An introduction to the workings and legacy of the US Supreme Court through the life of the first woman on America's highest court in its 200-year history.Muu info
An introduction to the workings and legacy of the US Supreme Court through the life of the first woman on America's highest court in its 200-year history.
Series Foreword
Preface
Timeline
Introduction: Why Sandra Day OConnor Matters
1. Lazy B Ranch
2. El Paso
3. Stanford
4. San Mateo and Germany
5. Phoenix
6. Washington, DC: Pre-2000
7. Washington, DC: Post-2000
8. The World
9. Historical Touchpoints
10. Primary Source Documents
Bibliography
About the Author
Index
Nancy Hendricks holds a doctorate in education and is an award-winning author whose books include Women's Equality in America (Bloomsbury 2024), Daily Life of Women in Postwar America (Greenwood 2021), and Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life in American History (ABC-CLIO 2020), among others.
