James Lowell Underwood

6 x 9, 209 pages
cloth, ISBN 0-87249-443-8, $49.95s

ABOUT THE BOOK

This is the first in-depth description of power under the South Carolina Constitution. Deftly blending history with contemporary politics and law, James Lowell Underwood explains how and why the South Carolina Constitution is different from those of other states and the federal government.

Professor Underwood explores the pivotal shifts in power among the branches of South Carolina state government from colonial to contemporary times. He focuses on the unique South Carolina twist on the separation of powers doctrine that traditionally has made the legislature the dominant force in state government. He traces the origins of this legislative supremacy to the colonial battles between the royal governor and the Commons House of Assembly.

As the book traces the ebb and flow of power between the various departments of state government, one theme emerges—that, although the branches of government are separate, they are also inseparable.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Lowell Underwood received his Ph.D. in 1962 from Emory University and his LL.M. in 1966 from Yale University. He is currently the Strom Thurmond Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina, where he has taught at the School of Law since 1966.

ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

The Constitution of South Carolina, Volume III: Church and State, Morality and Free Expression

The Constitution of South Carolina, Volume IV: The Struggle for Political Equality

At Freedom's Door: African American Founding Fathers and Lawyers in Reconstruction South Carolina

The Dawn of Religious Freedom in South Carolina