Law and Jurisprudence in American History: Cases and Materials (American Casebook Series)

The Seventh Edition adds new material to the casebook about race, the coming of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Reunion. Two new thematic essays explore 1) the history of secessionist thought in the nation from 1776 to 1861 (the creation date of the Confederacy), and 2) the effort by Radical Republicans during the era of Congressional Reconstruction, 1866-1876, to rebuild the South in the model of a biracial democracy, and the resounding failure of these efforts by 1910. We are also adding cases, primary legal and political documents (especially regarding the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments), and notes to illustrate and to further develop these themes. The addition of this new material substantially broadens and enriches the book's coverage on matters of race and nation since 1865. The new content will also provide additional context for understanding materials that appear elsewhere in the book: in particular the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (the enduring vision of free market-libertarian ideology), the New Deal and NLRB (the eventual dominance of national power over free market-libertarian ideology), Brown v. Board of Education (overruling Plessy v. Ferguson and beginning a reversal of the earlier failure of racial reconciliation), and late 20th century critical legal studies and feminist theory (further developing concepts of equality).