r to be decided by the Court, Brown. v. Board of Education. The Brown v. Board of Education decision was the beginning of the integration of schools in the South and would be the basis for the move to end to de facto segregation in the North as well. Once the issue was decided, however, it was implemented only slowly, and the reason for this was the prevailing attitude even among whites sympathetic to the Black cause. This view was expressed by President Eisenhower when he urged "moderation" and said it was necessary to wait for an inner change, "a change within the heart that would bear fruit in peaceful and constructive actions" (Konvitz 255).
This was only the first of a number of major decisions to come out of the Warren Court, and many were clearly in opposition to the Eisenhower administration and to the philosophy of Eisenhower himself. The view taken of Warren by conservatives like Eisenhower was that Warren's approach was based on "an inappropriate philosophy," and they "called for a restricted view of judicial activity" (Hall 916). Other presidents as well have found that the judges they have appointed to the Supreme Court do not necessarily hew to a philosophy with which the presidents would agree. Yet once the judge is confirmed, there is nothing the President can do about this fact. In some cases, the differences might be apparent right away, as with Warren. Other judges change over several years and shift from one side of the spectrum to another.
One of the clear strengths of the U.S. Constitution is its flexibility--this is a document that has been designed to evolve and grow over time in order to meet changed circumstances and new perspectives in society. The American system from the first was seen as something that would be organic rather than static and that would empower the people to make changes as they perceived a need to do so. In keeping with this idea of evolution, the founding Fathers provided...