Congress and the First Civil Rights Era, 1861-1918

Civil rights legislation figured prominently in the agenda of Congress during the Civil War and Reconstruction. But as Reconstruction came to an end and discrimination against African Americans in the South became commonplace, civil rights advocates in Congress increasingly shifted to policies desired by white constituents in the North who had grown tired of efforts to legislate equality. In this book, the first of a two-volume set, Jeffery A. Jenkins and Justin Peck explore the rise and fall of civil rights legislation in Congress from 1861 to 1918.

The authors examine in detail how the Republican Party slowly withdrew its support for a meaningful civil rights agenda, as well as how Democrats and Republicans worked together to keep civil rights off the legislative agenda at various points. In doing so, Jenkins and Peck show how legal institutions can be used both to liberate and protect oppressed minorities and to assert the power of the white majority against those same minority groups.

Author: Jeffery A. Jenkins, Justin Peck
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 05/25/2021
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.72d
ISBN13: 9780226756363
ISBN10: 022675636X
BISAC Categories:
- Political Science | American Government | Legislative Branch
- History | United States | 19th Century
- History | United States | 20th Century

About the Author
Jeffery A. Jenkins is the Provost Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law, the Judith and John Bedrosian Chair of Governance and the Public Enterprise, director of the Bedrosian Center, and director of the Political Institutions and Political Economy Collaborative at University of Southern California. Justin Peck is assistant professor of government at Wesleyan University.