The Constitution and the Nation

The Civil War shook America to the core of its constitutional foundations. Before the war, the Constitution protected slavery and kept power decentralized. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln gathered enormous national power to combat what he called the «anarchy» of secession. After the war, the nation struggled to understand what had happened. Historians Christopher Waldrep and Lynne Curry have assembled a collection of constitutional documents to explore the meaning of the Civil War, the influence of constitutionalism on presidential war powers, and the U.S. Supreme Court's fight to limit the war's impact in post-Civil War America.

Auteur

The Authors: Christopher Waldrep is Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Professor of History at San Francisco State University and author, most recently, of The Many Faces of Judge Lynch: Extralegal Violence and Punishment in America (2002).
Lynne Curry is Professor of History at Eastern Illinois University and author of Modern Mothers in the Heartland: Gender, Health, and Progress in Illinois, 1900-1930 (1999).

Résumé
"The four volumes of this new documentary sourcebook offer a fresh look at our constitutional past. In addition to excerpts from landmark decisions of the Supreme Court, the editors provide a host of other important documents - everything from England's Magna Carta to the U.S. Congress's authorization of the Iraq War - that illuminate the evolution of American constitutionalism. Students will benefit from the chance to hear these disparate voices of our constitutional heritage, while professors and teachers will appreciate the concise commentary and thoughtful organization. I strongly recommend them." (Timothy S. Huebner, Rhodes College, author of 'The Southern Judicial Tradition: State Judges and Sectional Distinctiveness, 1790-1890')
"Christopher Waldrep and Lynne Curry have assembled a treasure trove of teaching materials on the Constitution. Students and teachers alike will find useful materials on women and the law, slavery, state's rights, and so much more. This anthology will be adopted in many classrooms because of the breadth of material included." (Sally Hadden, Florida State University, author of 'Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas')