Melvin Urofsky talks about his book, Louis D. Brandeis: A Life . Louis Brandeis was 59 years old when he was named to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Prior to that he had been instrumental in the development of the Federal Reserve and the Federal Trade Commission. Professor Urofsky discussed Justice Brandeis' early years in Louisville and his leadership in the American Zionist movement. He was the first Jewish member of the Court. Justice Brandeis remained on the court until 1939. When the new Supreme Court building opened in 1935, Justice Brandeis refused to move into his new chambers, saying that the courtroom in the Capitol was more symbolic of smaller government.
Melvin Urofsky is the author or editor of over 50 books, including the five-volume collection of Louis Brandeis's letters, as well as American Zionism from Herzl to the Holocaust and Louis D. Brandeis and the Progressive Tradition.