Damon Root is a senior editor at Reason, where he writes about law, politics, and history. He is the author of two books: A Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution (Potomac Books, 2020) and Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
A Glorious Liberty has been praised by reviewers, who called it "refreshing and thoughtful" (Intellectual History Review), "thoroughly researched and readable" (The Objective Standard), "informed" (Shepherd Express), "a meticulously researched celebration of the intellectual legacy of Frederick Douglass" (Radley Balko), "a highly accessible and engaging overview of abolitionist constitutionalism" (Randy Barnett), "a great and important book" (Greg Lukianoff), and "brilliant…one of the best concise histories of the movement to end slavery" (Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine). According to the columnist and author George F. Will, "today, once again, the original Constitution is being vilified, as a validation of slavery, by people with disreputable agendas and negligible understanding. Damon Root, who explicates the great document as well as anyone writing today, brings the patience of Job and a noble ally—Frederick Douglass—to the task of refuting this recycled canard. Root and Douglass, like root beer and ice cream, are an irresistible American combination."
Overruled was also a hit with reviewers, who called it "sober, well-researched, and thoughtful" (Washington Monthly), "historically rich and elegantly written" (National Review), "excellent" (Forbes), "fun stuff and informative even for insiders" (The Wall Street Journal), "timely, important, and provocative" (The Florida Bar Journal), "a great addition to your personal bookshelf" (Law Library Journal), and "impressive…a valuable guide to both the past and the potential future of these important issues" (The Washington Post).
Root is the winner of the 2015 Los Angeles Press Club Award for Best Political/Government Reporting and the winner of the 2011 R.C. Hoiles Prize for Journalism. Root's book A Glorious Liberty was named a 2021 Outstanding Academic Title by the editors of Choice, a publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Root's work has been cited by the Texas Supreme Court and in the writings of U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. His work has also been cited in leading scholarly journals, including the Columbia Law Review, the Notre Dame Law Review, and the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy. His 2007 essay on NAACP co-founder Moorfield Storey was recommended in Race & Liberty in America: The Essential Reader (University Press of Kentucky).
Root's writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, Newsweek, New York Post, New York Daily News, New York Press, Washington Times, WallStreetJournal.com, The Globe and Mail, The Orange County Register, and other publications.
Root has spoken before audiences at Harvard Law School, Georgetown Law Center, Columbia University, and the New York Civil Liberties Union, and he has been featured on C-SPAN's Book TV, the Fox Business Channel, New York Public Radio, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and other media outlets.
