Patrick M Garry

This book focuses on a key case study in the history of American territories, public works, transportation and the constitutional system of checks and balances. The saga of Yankton County’s attempt to bring the first railroad into Dakota Territory in 1873 covers 25 years of territorial history, leading up to statehood for South Dakota in 1889. Garry investigates the array of unusual facts and occurrences within the story of the Dakota Southern, which was the first railroad stretching into the Territory. Lawsuits worked themselves all the way up to the Supreme Court. The most notorious shooting in the territory occurred in connection with railroad disputes The failure of Yankton to pay interest on the bonds used to finance the railroad—a failure initially prompted by a court injunction against such payment—may have delayed statehood for the entire territory. But the primary focus of this railroad story revolves around the way it highlights the predictions and observations of two of America’s most noted thinkers: Alexis de Tocqueville and James Madison. It shows the tension between Tocqueville’s impressions of the enterprising, risk-taking, and association-minded nature of Americans and Madison’s warnings about a federal government exercising unprecedented powers and having expanded beyond adequate checks. It works through the abstract observations of Tocqueville and Madison with tangible examples that are still relevant today.

Quintas Livius, a Roman tax clerk, finds himself a hunted man after filing an investigative report on a rash of disturbances in Galilee surrounding a supposed miracle worker named Jesus. In the wake of Jesus's crucifixion, the authorities in Jerusalem must squelch a brewing rebellion over what has come to be seen as a rushed execution of a genuine prophet. Because of his report, which had been submitted prior to Jesus's trial, Quin becomes a prime object of that post-crucifixion cover-up. During his investigation, Quin had unknowingly become entangled in an anti-Jesus conspiracy--an entanglement severed only after Quin got thrown together with a group of Jesus followers and an itinerant merchant trying to make money off those followers. Among the people Quin meets are a man who worked at a wedding feast in Cana and a young girl who carries a rope she said was used to lower a man through a roof to be healed by Jesus. The report Quin eventually submits will subject him to the wrath of a ruling establishment seeking to eliminate any evidence that it might have known the truth of Jesus before condemning him. But as he flees for his safety, Quin encounters the risen Jesus and learns the truth behind all the strange circumstances he investigated.

The Power of Gratitude reflects on the experiences of Michael and Elizabeth Garry, who became an inspiration in their community, to reveal the secret to a life filled with the virtues we often consider unattainable. Michael and Elizabeth demonstrated how true gratitude might be foundational to everything else: the attribute that enables one to love without interruption, serve without expectation, persevere without anguish, and find joy in every minute of life. Gratitude is not just a thank you for a specific benefit, it is a way of life. Based on their lives, a self-improvement conference could be condensed to one sentence: if you nurture an enduring gratitude--and not just a thankfulness for particular events--then you may find a deep joy, as opposed to transitory excitements. The lesson they taught: find gratitude, and you will find the person God meant you to be. The Power of Gratitude also reflects on the divisiveness of contemporary society. In ungrateful times, there can be no social peace. Rivalries fueled by resentments replace the unity and generosity that flow from a culture of gratitude. But when gratitude dispels fear, it can inspire the courage to live in a way that fuels future gratitude.

The Power of Gratitude reflects on the experiences of Michael and Elizabeth Garry, who became an inspiration in their community, to reveal the secret to a life filled with the virtues we often consider unattainable. Michael and Elizabeth demonstrated how true gratitude might be foundational to everything else: the attribute that enables one to love without interruption, serve without expectation, persevere without anguish, and find joy in every minute of life. Gratitude is not just a thank you for a specific benefit, it is a way of life. Based on their lives, a self-improvement conference could be condensed to one sentence: if you nurture an enduring gratitude--and not just a thankfulness for particular events--then you may find a deep joy, as opposed to transitory excitements. The lesson they taught: find gratitude, and you will find the person God meant you to be. The Power of Gratitude also reflects on the divisiveness of contemporary society. In ungrateful times, there can be no social peace. Rivalries fueled by resentments replace the unity and generosity that flow from a culture of gratitude. But when gratitude dispels fear, it can inspire the courage to live in a way that fuels future gratitude.

South Dakota was the first state in the nation's history to adopt the Initiative and Referendum, making it permissible for the people to initiate a constitutional amendment, on a statewide level in 1898. While it continues to be a controversial procedure, Patrick Garry discusses this in-depth while providing the only definitive reference resource on the South Dakota Constitution, including all significant court decisions interpreting each Section. The South Dakota Constitution features the rich history and development of constitutionalism in the state. It provides the complete text of the state's current constitution, with each section accompanied by commentary that explains the provision and traces its origins and its interpretation by the courts and by other governmental bodies. Offering in-depth, section-by-section analysis of the entire constitution, it shows the many significant changes within the state of South Dakota that have been made since the constitution's initial drafting. The book concludes with a bibliography, a table of cases cited in the volume, and a topical index making this volume a highly detailed historical companion for students, scholars, practitioners, and all readers interested in state constitutional issues and the history of South Dakota's statehood. The Oxford Commentaries on the State Constitutions of the United States is an important series that reflects a renewed international interest in constitutional history and provides expert insight into each of the 50 state constitutions. Each volume in this innovative series contains a historical overview of the state's constitutional development, a section-by-section analysis of its current constitution, and a comprehensive guide to further research. Under the expert editorship of Professor G. Alan Tarr, Director of the Center on State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, this series provides essential reference tools for understanding state constitutional law. Books in the series can be purchased individually or as part of a complete set, giving readers unmatched access to these important political documents.

An Entrenched Legacy takes a fresh look at the role of the Supreme Court in our modern constitutional system. Although criticisms of judicial power today often attribute its rise to the activism of justices seeking to advance particular political ideologies, Patrick Garry argues instead that the Supreme Court’s power has grown mainly because of certain constitutional decisions during the New Deal era that initially seemed to portend a lessening of the Court’s power. When the Court retreated from enforcing separation of powers and federalism as the twin structural protections for individual liberty in the face of FDR’s New Deal agenda, it was inevitably drawn into an alternative approach, substantive due process, as a means for protecting individual rights. This has led to many controversial judicial rulings, particularly regarding the recognition and enforcement of privacy rights. It has also led to the mistaken belief that the judiciary serves as the only protection of liberty and that an inherent conflict exists between individual liberty and majoritarian rule. Moreover, because the Court has assumed sole responsibility for preserving liberty, the whole area of individual rights has become highly centralized. As Garry argues, individual rights have been placed exclusively under judicial jurisdiction not because of anything the Constitution commands, but because of the constitutional compromise of the New Deal.During the Rehnquist era, the Court tried to reinvigorate the constitutional doctrine of federalism by strengthening certain powers of the states. But, according to Garry, this effort only went halfway toward a true revival of federalism, since the Court continued to rely on judicially enforced individual rights for the protection of liberty. A more comprehensive reform would require a return to the earlier reliance on both federalism and separation of powers as structural devices for protecting liberty. Such reform, as Garry notes, would also help revitalize the role of legislatures in our democratic system.