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

by Eric Foner

Book Overview

The Declaration of Independence announced equality as an American ideal, but it took the Civil War and the subsequent adoption of three constitutional amendments to establish that ideal as American law. The Reconstruction amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed all persons due process and equal protection of the law, and equipped black men with the right to vote. They established the principle of birthright citizenship and guaranteed the privileges...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393652572
• ISBN13: 9780393652574
• Release Date: September 2019
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.4"