Table of Contents

1 Slavery and Its Social Penetration A. Slavery and the Founding Generation B. Slavery as a Cultural Institution C. Centrality of Slavery in Sectional Con?icts 2 On the Road to Rati?cation A. Emancipation by Statute and Proclamation B. Congressional Debates on the Thirteenth Amendment's Meaning C. The Immediate Aftermath of Liberation 1. What Sort of Freedom? 2. Legal Protections 3 End of Radical Ideals and Judicial Response A. Political Abandonment of Reconstruction B. Supreme Court Abandonment of Reconstruction 1. Early Opinions 2. Relinquishment of Thirteenth Amendment Principles C. A Ray of Hope: Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer D. Summing Up 4 Summing Up and Looking Ahead 5 Theoretical Foundation A. Abolition and Natural Rights B. Thirteenth Amendment and Universal Liberty 6 Thirteenth Amendment and Constitutional Rights A. Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment FreedomsB. Source for Substantive Freedom C. Commerce Clause and Thirteenth Amendment 7 Contemporary Settings A. Confederate Symbols 1. National Symbolism 2. Peculiarities of Confederate Symbols 3. Revival of Confederate Symbolism 4. Federal Authority B. Hate Crimes C. Contemporary Instances of Peonage Conclusion

Promotional Information

Tsesis explains why the 13th Amendment is essential to contemporary America, offering a fresh analysis of the role the Amendment has played regarding civil rights legislation.

About the Author

Alexander Tsesis is visiting professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Law and visiting assistant professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is the author of Destructive Messages: How Hate Speech Paves the Way for Harmful Social Movements (NYU Press, 2002).

Reviews

"For those looking for arguments to revitalize and expand the use of the Thirteenth Amendment, this is an interesting piece of advoacacy." --Journal of American History "This book deserves applause because it illuminates in a new and stimulating way methods for repairing the harm done by racist rhetoric, hate crimes, and the newest forms of slavery." --The American Historical Review "...a challenging and nicely written book that will teach well." --Choice "In this interesting study, Alexander Tsesis argues for an expansive view of the Thirteenth Amendment, presenting it as an effort to permanently abolish all the incidents and badges of slavery in America, including both governmentally and privately sponsered forms of oppression against former slaves and others." --The Law and Politics Review "[A] comprehensive and brilliant book from both a historical and analytical perspective. Drawing from the lessons of history, Alexander Tsesis shows persuasively the relevance of the Thirteenth Amendment to a wide range of the social and economic issues currently facing America, and he offers highly creative arguments that support the use of congressional power under the Thirteenth Amendment as a potent and effective means of meeting and resolving these issues." --G. Sidney Buchanan, BakeR & Botts Chaired Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center "Tsesis vigorously presents a set of arguments that are rarely found in the conventional legal literature... an interesting and challenging book." --Sanford Levinson, University of Texas Law School "...audacious and original. He (Tsesis) offers a blueprint as to how desperately needed reforms...can come about." --Richard Delgado in Michigan Law Review "Alexander Tsesis's invigorating reevaluation of the Thirteenth Amendment agrees with many Lincoln Republicans that it embraced the Declaration of Independence." --Harold Hyman, Rice University