The Second Founding - How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution

The Declaration of Independence announced equality as an American ideal but it took the Civil War and the adoption of three constitutional amendments to establish that ideal as law. The Reconstruction amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed due process and the equal protection of the law, and equipped black men with the right to vote. By grafting the principle of equality onto the Constitution, the amendments marked the second founding of the United States.

Eric Foner conveys the dramatic origins of these revolutionary amendments and explores the court decisions that then narrowed and nullified the rights guaranteed in these amendments. Today, issues of birthright citizenship, voting rights, due process and equal protection are still in dispute; the ideal of equality yet to be achieved.

About the author

Eric Foner's indelible works include the landmark history, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution; a bestselling study of Lincoln and slavery, The Fiery Trial, winner of the Pulitzer, Bancroft, and Lincoln Prizes; and an influential history of the Reconstruction amendments, The Second Founding. The DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, Foner continues to write frequently for The Nation and other publications.

Summary

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, an authoritative story of the constitutional changes that built equality into America’s foundation.

Product details

• Authors: Eric Foner, Eric (Columbia University) Foner, Foner Eric
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 11.09.2020
• EAN: 9780393358520
• ISBN: 978-0-393-35852-0
• Dimensions: 140 mm x 211 mm x 20 mm
• Weight: 236 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political system; USA, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, History, HISTORY / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877), HISTORY / United States / 19th Century, POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / National, c 1800 to c 1900, United States of America, USA, History of the Americas, Central / national / federal government, Central government