Changes in Law and Society during the Civil War and Reconstruction

The first comprehensive collection of legal history documents from the Civil War and Reconstruction, this volume shows the profound legal changes that occurred during the Civil War era and highlights how law, society, and politics inextricably mixed and set American legal development on particular paths that were not predetermined. Editor Christian G. Samito has carefully selected excerpts from legislation, public and legislative debates, court cases, investigations of white supremacist violence in the South, and rare court-martial records, added his expert analysis, and illustrated the selections with telling period artwork to create an outstanding resource that demonstrates the rich and important legal history of the era.

"Editor Christian G. Samito has carefully selected excerpts from legislation, public and legislative debates, court cases, investigations of white supremacist violence in the South, and rare court-martial records, added his expert analysis, and illustrated the selections with telling period artwork to create an outstanding resource that demonstrates the rich and important legal history of the era."--Legal History Blog "The documents in this skillfully edited reader demonstrate with startling clarity the dramatic change the Civil War wrought in American law and society. This is one of the finest compendiums ever assembled of the legal cases, speeches, essays, and legislative acts from this period."--Michael A. Ross, author of Justice of Shattered Dreams: Samuel Freeman Miller and the Supreme Court during the Civil War Era "Changes in Law and Society during the Civil War and Reconstruction provides the essential and necessary original source material for a clear understanding of the middle period of American history. The documents, state papers, court opinions, and excellent illustrations improve our understanding of the tumultuous period of the Civil War and Reconstruction."--Frank J. Williams, author of Judging Lincoln

Christian G. Samito, who earned a law degree from Harvard Law School and a doctorate in American history from Boston College, is the editor of Commanding Boston’s Irish Ninth: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Patrick R. Guiney, Ninth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and “Fear Was Not in Him”: The Civil War Letters of Major General Francis C. Barlow, U.S.A, and the author of Becoming American under Fire: Irish Americans, African Americans, and the Politics of Citizenship during the Civil War Era. In addition to teaching at Boston College and Boston University School of Law, Samito practices law in Boston.