Description
Book SynopsisWhy does the American Civil War still speak to us so powerfully? Many of the questions at the heart of the conflict are also central to the very idea of America - and that many of them remain unresolved. This book offers the opportunity to pursue these questions from a new, critical perspective.
Trade ReviewIn our day, when political polarization reigns supreme, what could be timelier than a collection that explores the political and constitutional dilemmas confronted by our Civil War forebears? These essays provide rich historical insights with provocative contemporary implications." - Timothy S. Huebner, author of
Liberty and Union: The Civil War Era and American Constitutionalism"The Civil War raised fundamental issues about our constitutional order, issues that still resonate today. Levine, Merrill, and Stoner have assembled a stellar cast of scholars to revisit the thought of the Civil War era and address broader issues, including the ability of the Constitution to function in a polarized political community and produce justice in a multiracial society. These essays have much to teach us not only about the Civil War era but also about our present predicaments." - Daniel Farber, author of
Lincoln's ConstitutionTable of Contents
- Preface
- Introduction: the civil War as a Regime Question, Thomas W. Merrill, Alan Levine, and James R. Stoner, Jr.
- Part I: The Problem
- 1. The Later Jefferson and the Problem of Natural Rights, Thomas W. Merrill
- 2. Slavery and the US Supreme Court, Keith E. Whittington
- 3. Antebellum Natural Rights Liberalism, Daniel S. Malachuk
- 4. Scientific Racism in Antebellum America, Alan Levine
- 5. From Calhoun to Secession, James H. Read
- Part II: Hard Choices
- 6. Lincoln and "the Public Estimate of the Negro": From Anti-Amalgamation to Antislavery, Diana J. Schaub
- 7. Why Did Lincoln Go to War?, Steven B. Smith
- 8. The Lincolnian Constitution, Caleb Verbois
- 9. To Preserve, Protect, and Defend: The Emancipation Proclamation, W. B. Allen
- 10. The Case of the Confederate Constitution, James R. Stoner, Jr.
- Part III: Pyrrhic Victories?
- 11. Completing the Constitution: the Reconstruction Amendments, Michael Zuckert
- 12. The Politics of Reconstruction and the Problem of Self-Government, Philip B. Lyons
- 13. "A School for the Moral Education of the Nation": Frederick Douglass on the Meaning of the Civil War, Peter C. Myers
- 14. The South and American Constitutionalism after the Civil War, Johnathan O'Neill
- List of Contributors
- Index
