Constitutionalism in the Approach and Aftermath of the Civil War

Authors

Paul D. Moreno
Jonathan O'Neill, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow

Contributors

Georgia Southern University faculty member, Jonathan O'Neill co-edited "Constitutionalism in the Approach and Aftermath of the Civil War."

Files

Abstract

The irreducibly constitutional nature of the Civil War's prelude and legacy is the focus of this absorbing collection of nine essays by a diversity of political theorists and historians. The contributors examine key constitutional developments leading up to the war, the crucial role of Abraham Lincoln's statesmanship, and how the constitutional aspects of the war and Reconstruction endured in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This thoughtful, informative volume covers a wide range of topics: from George Washington's conception of the Union and his fears for its future to Martin Van Buren's state-centered, anti-secessionist federalism; from Lincoln's approach to citizenship for African Americans to Woodrow Wilson's attempt to appropriate Lincoln for the goals of Progressivism. Each essay zeroes in on the constitutional causes or consequences of the war and emphasizes how constitutional principles shape political activity. Accordingly, important figures, disputes, and judicial decisions are placed within the broader context of the constitutional system to explain how ideas and institutions, independently and in dialogue with the courts, have oriented political action and shaped events over time.

Publication Date

7-2013

Publisher

Fordham University Press

ISBN for this edition (10-digit)

0823251942

ISBN for this edition (13-digit)

9780823251940