The Unfinished Work: From Gettysburg to the Second Inaugural The Constitutional Bridge from Sacrifice to a Just and Lasting Peace I. Two Speeches—One Continuing Charge Abraham Lincoln did not live to preside over the constitutional Reconstruction that followed the Civil War. He did not witness the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, or Fifteenth Amendments, nor …
The Purpose, Method, Vocabulary, and Constitutional Boundaries of This Inquiry This work asks the reader to travel through history without confusing history with metaphor, law with aspiration, constitutional authority with moral urgency, or preventative warning with a proposed use of force. I. The Purpose of This Constitutional Inquiry This work is not intended to be …
From Human Property to Federal Protection ANNOTATED EDITION Wartime Origins of Reconstruction The constitutional story of Reconstruction did not begin with Appomattox.[1] It began while the Civil War was still being fought. The First and Second Confiscation Acts of 1861 and 1862 were enacted during the Nation’s greatest constitutional crisis.[2] Their immediate purpose was to …
THE CONFISCATION ACTS: Enacted to Save the Union Read More »
The President’s Constitutional Commitment: From Military Necessity to Constitutional Stewardship ANNOTATED EDITION I. The Constitutional Crisis Reaches the Presidency By the autumn of 1862, the Civil War had become more than a contest over secession. It had become a struggle over the constitutional future of the Union itself. The Confiscation Acts had begun the Federal …
THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION: The Executive Covenant of Freedom Read More »
From Gettysburg to the Second Inaugural The Constitutional Bridge from Sacrifice to a Just and Lasting Peace I. Two Speeches—One Continuing Charge Abraham Lincoln did not live to preside over the constitutional Reconstruction that followed the Civil War. He did not witness the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, or Fifteenth Amendments, nor did he sign …
ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S CONSTITUTIONAL CHARGE: The Unfinished Work Read More »
This work is offered with urgency, but not with hostility; with conviction, but not with a demand for unexamined agreement; and with faith, but not as a substitute for constitutional evidence. An Invitation, Not a Command The essays in this Annotated Edition form an evolving constitutional series examining the development, implementation, contraction, and continuing significance …
A NOTE TO THE READER: Why This Work Is Offered Now Read More »
Reconstruction’s Permanent Executive Institution From Reconstruction to Re-Examination “Be True to What You Said on Paper.” ANNOTATED EDITION The Permanent Institution of Reconstruction The Reconstruction Congress understood that constitutional rights, once declared, required faithful execution.[1] The Civil Rights Act of 1866 established the principal statutory framework of Reconstruction.[2] The Reconstruction Amendments secured that framework within …
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE From Reconstruction to Re-Examination Read More »
When Constitutional Promises Required Federal Protection The Civil War preserved the Union. Reconstruction sought to preserve its constitutional meaning. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments proclaimed a new constitutional order. Yet the Congress that enacted them understood a fundamental truth: constitutional rights cannot protect themselves. A right without enforcement is a promise left vulnerable. A …
THE ENFORCEMENT ACTS OF 1870–1871 The Constitutional Shield of Reconstruction Read More »
The Three Constitutional Pillars of America’s New Birth of Freedom The constitutional work of Reconstruction did not consist of a single amendment. It consisted of three. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments together form what this series describes as the Reconstruction Triad. Like a three-legged stool, each amendment supports the others. Each possesses its own …
From Sky Talking to Earth Walking There are moments in the life of a nation when government ceases to be merely administrative and becomes profoundly moral. The Emancipation Proclamation was such a moment. Issued on January 1, 1863, during the greatest constitutional crisis in American history, it was born of military necessity. Yet it reached …