Last Update February 8, 2002

The Federalist Society formed twenty years ago in reaction to the powers the Supreme Court was granting the federal government. The federal government became a champion of civil rights, ending the Jim Crow laws of the south that legalized segregation. It was a force against discrimination. It imposed laws on states and industry to protect the environment and to protect worker safety. It established minimum wage laws. It gave women the right to choose an abortion. And the Supreme Court consistently upheld a separation between church and state.

The Federalist Society is a network of lawyers, elected officials and scholars who want to free corporations from government regulations and end a separation of church and state. In a sense, it represents a fusion of corporate wealth and Religious Right ideology. It provides legal rational for their interests.

The Topic of this web site titled 'States Rights' shows how a powerful member of the federalist society, Attorney General John Ashcroft, reverses his enthusiasm for states rights once he becomes part of the federal government. Ashcroft now uses his position to impose his ideology on the rest of the country.

Some prominent leaders of the Religious Right play a dominant role in the Federalist Society. For example former President of the Christian Coalition, Donald Hodel is a board member. Twenty four of President Bush's top cabinet members and most of his court nominations are members of the Federalist Society. The list includes John Ashcroft, Attorney General; Spencer Abraham, Secretary of Energy; Gail Norton, Secretary of the Interior; and Theodore Olson, Solicitor General. Other notable members are Justices Scalia and Thomas, Orrin Hatch, Kenneth Starr.