FROM CONFEDERATION TO NATION: The American Constitution, 1835-1877

by Bernard Schwartz ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 1973

Beginning with the death of the great Chief Justice John Marshall and ending with the close of Reconstruction, Schwartz describes the constitutional course during that period, arguing that those four decades solidified the irresistible trend toward expansion of federal power at the expense of the states: ""The Constitution which emerged from the Civil War and Reconstruction established a federal predominance which dwarfed even the doctrine of national supremacy developed by Marshall."" Various landmark decisions -- the legal tender cases, the Slaughter-House opinions -- are analyzed within the parameters of Schwartz' theme. No one will accuse him of making an original contribution to constitutional history -- only a demented student of Supreme Court behavior would gainsay the tendency toward federalization. But his implied but never developed point -- that what others like Robert McCloskey have called a ""judicial ice age"" was in fact a period of important constitutional activity -- is worth further exploration. For a specialized audience.

Pub Date: July 19, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION