Author: Thomas C. Mackey A Documentary History of the American Civil War Era is thefirst comprehensive collection of public policy actions, politicalspeeches, and judicial decisions related to the American Civil War.This three-volume set gives scholars and students easy access tothe full texts of both the most important, fundamental documentsas well as hard-to-find, rarely published primary sources on thiscritical period in U.S. history. Volume 2 in the series, Political Arguments, presents thewords of politicians, political party platforms, and administrativespeeches. It is divided into two sections. The first, Voices ofthe Politicians and Political Parties, comprises the platformsof the major (and some minor) parties from1856 to 1876. Alsoincluded are such pieces as Robert E. Lees letter of resignationfrom the U.S. Army, a few key speeches by that rising politicianfrom Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, and a letter on the AmericanQuestion written by a European observer, Karl Marx. Otheritems include examples of the 18601861 state ordinances ofsecession and addresses on emancipation and Reconstruction byJefferson Davis and by the Republican leader in the House ofRepresentatives, Thaddeus Stevens. Section two, Voices of the Administrations, containsrecords from the presidencies of James Buchanan, AbrahamLincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B.Hayes as well as a message from Confederate President JeffersonDavis telling his congress that the Southern cause was just andholy. Classic documents such as Lincolns announcement offorthcoming emancipation and the Emancipation Proclamationare here, as are lesser-known but important documents such asFrancis Liebers 1863 revised law code for war, General Order100, and Attorney General James Speeds 1865 opinion supportingthe Johnson administrations decision to try the Lincoln murderconspirators by special military commission and not in the civiliancourts. Each of the selections in Political Arguments is precededby editor Thomas Mackeys introductory headnotes that explainthe documents historical significance and trace its lasting impact.These commentaries provide insight into not just law and publicpolicy but also the broad sweep of issues important to Civil Warera Americans. A Documentary History of the American Civil War Erais an essential acquisition for academic and public libraries inaddition to being a valuable resource for courses on the War andReconstruction, legal history, political history, and nineteenth-century American history.Thomas C. Mackey is professor of history at the University ofLouisville and adjunct professor of law at the Brandeis Schoolof Law. He is the author of Red Lights Out: A Legal History ofProstitution, Disorderly Houses, and Vice Districts, 18701917and Pornography on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, andDocuments.

Author: Jonathan Scott Holloway How do we balance the desire for tales of exceptional accomplishment with the need for painful doses of reality? How hard do we work to remember our past or to forget it? These are some of the questions that Jonathan Scott Holloway addresses in this exploration of race memory from the dawn of the modern civil rights era to the present. Relying on social science, documentary film, dance, popular literature, museums, memoir, and the tourism trade, Holloway explores the stories black Americans have told about their past and why these stories are vital to understanding a modern black identity. In the process, Holloway asks much larger questions about the value of history and facts when memories do violence to both.Making discoveries about his own past while researching this book, Holloway weaves first-person and family memories into the traditional third-person historian's perspective. The result is a highly readable, rich, and deeply personal narrative that will be familiar to some, shocking to others, and thought-provoking to everyone.