We Shall Overcome : A History of Civil Rights and the Law

by Alexander Tsesis

• ISBN13: 9780300151442
• ISBN10: 0300151446
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2009-06-23
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Despite America's commitment to civil rights from the earliest days of nationhood, examples of injustices against minorities stain many pages of U.S. history. The battle for racial, ethnic, and gender fairness remains unfinished. This comprehensive book traces the history of legal efforts to achieve civil rights for all Americans, beginning with the years leading up to the Revolution and continuing to our own times. The historical adventure Alexander Tsesis recounts is filled with fascinating events, with real change and disappointing compromise, and with courageous individuals and organizations committed to ending injustice. Viewing the evolution of civil rights through the lens of legal history, Tsesis considers laws that have restricted civil rights (such as Jim Crow regulations and prohibitions against intermarriage) and laws that have expanded rights (including antisegregation legislation and other legal advances of the civil rights era). He focuses particular attention on the African American fight for civil rights but also discusses the struggles of women, gays and lesbians, Japanese Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Jews. He concludes by assessing the current state of civil rights in the United States and exploring likely future expansions of civil rights.

Author Biography

Alexander Tsesis is assistant professor of law at Loyola University of Chicago, School of Law. His previous books include The Thirteenth Amendment and American Freedom: A Legal History and Destructive Messages: How Hate Speech Paves the Way for Harmful Social Movements. He lives in Chicago and Milwaukee.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Liberty through Revolution	p. 9
Constitutional Republic of Equals?	p. 22
The Controversy about Slavery	p. 45
Sectional Compromise and National Conflict	p. 65
Reconstructing the American Dream	p. 83
Unraveling Constitutional Reconstruction	p. 117
Political Restrictions and Developments	p. 132
Progressive Transitions	p. 162
Rights in the Regulatory State	p. 173
The War against Tyranny	p. 210
Expanding Civil Rights	p. 238
The Warren Court's Achievements	p. 251
Sketches of the Continuing Legal Effort	p. 280
Notes	p. 305
Index	p. 355
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