Kate Masur Books

"A groundbreaking history of the antebellum movement for equal rights that reshaped the institutions of freedom after the Civil War. The half century before the Civil War was beset with conflict over freedom as well as slavery: what were the arrangements of free society, especially for African Americans? Beginning in 1803, many free states enacted black codes that discouraged the settlement and restricted the basic rights of free black people. But claiming the equal-rights promises of the Declaration and the Constitution, a biracial movement arose to fight these racist state laws. Kate Masur's magisterial history delivers this pathbreaking movement in vivid detail. Its advocates battled in state legislatures, Congress, and the courts, and through petitioning, party politics and elections. They visited slave states to challenge local laws that imprisoned free blacks and sold them into slavery. Despite immovable white majorities and unfavorable court decisions, their vision became increasingly mainstream. After the Civil War, their arguments shaped the Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, the pillars of our second founding"-- Provided by publisher

The book explores the struggle for equality and freedom faced by African Americans in the decades leading up to the Civil War. It highlights the discriminatory laws enacted by free states that limited the rights of free African Americans. Despite significant challenges, a coalition of African American activists and white allies bravely fought against these injustices through various means, including legal battles and political engagement. Their efforts laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, marking significant milestones in the first civil rights movement.

The book delves into Washington, D.C.'s role as a testing ground for social policy during emancipation and the Civil War. It highlights African Americans' grassroots activism and the impact of black men's voting rights on local politics, revealing how reformers undermined these rights shortly after their establishment. By examining issues of equality, public and private space, and citizenship, the study enriches the understanding of Reconstruction and its complexities, making a significant contribution to the scholarship on this transformative period.