The Historian
"Those scholars interested in black, southern, legal and constitutional history should add this book to their list of volumes."


East Texas Historical Association
"This is the best, if not definitive study of this...topic."


The American Journal of Legal History
"This is a very interesting and useful study."


About the Author
Herman Belz is Professor of History at the University of Maryland at College Park and is a leading expert on the constitution and politics in the Civil War Era.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A New Birth of Freedom is an account of how laws, policies, and constitutional amendments defining and protecting the personal liberty and civil rights of the country's African American population were adopted during the Civil War. A study in legal and constitutional history, it complements and forms a necessary predicate to the social history of emancipation that is the principal focus of contemporary Civil War scholarship. The relevance of the legal dimension in the struggle for black freedom is attested by the observation that many slaves "learned the letter of the law so they could seemingly recite from memory" passages from congressional measures prohibiting the return of escaped slaves to disloyal owners and guaranteeing their personal liberty.

SYNOPSIS

A specialist in law and politics in the Civil War era, Belz (history, U. of Maryland) discusses how laws, policies, and constitutional amendments defining and protecting the personal liberty and civil rights of the country's African-American population were adopted during the war. At that time, the Republican Party championed the cause. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

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