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Title: The Dred Scott Case: Its Significance in American Law and Politics by Don Edward Fehrenbacher ISBN: 0-19-502403-6 Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A masterpiece of historical exposition
Comment: There is little that I can add to what has already been written. Fehrenbacher is clear, thoughtful, and comprehensive.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Really Wonderful Read
Comment: I read the abridged edition of 1981, titled Slavery, Law and Politics. I can only echo what the other reviwers have said. It's about a court opinion but it is anything but dry. You learn much about the law and politics of slavery, from the founding of the nation forward. You learn about the Dred Scott case itself, including the legal maneuverings in the lower courts. The author's analysis of Chief Justice Taney's opinion for the Court is one of the best single chapters I have read in a history book in a long time. The author is learned but the prose is engaging--elegant, even. You feel you are in the company of a wise teacher, who is not trying to impress you but simply to impart his considerable knowledge without ego on a topic that turns out to be an excellent prism through which to view an important swath of our history. Read it!
Rating: 5
Summary: An outstanding book
Comment: This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It might seem that a 700 page book (600 pages of text; 100 pages of notes) on a 19th century court case might be the epitome of exceedingly dry material suited only for particularly motivated graduate students. But I found this book captivating. What came through in every paragraph was the work of a skilled and judicious historian sleuthing his way to an understanding of the background and ramifications of the enormously important Dred Scott decision. Not one page in this book read like the work of an uninspired academic sawing his way through a pile of research notes.
Fehrenbacher focuses on the political, legal and constitutional aspects of the Dred Scott case. He explores the background and developments, from the arrival of the first slaves in the colonies in 1619 through the bitter political battles of the 1850s. His discussion of legal developments is particularly interesting because this is one area where the reader encounters the concrete complications and conflicts between various state and federal laws affecting slaves and slave owners. He also shows how legal developments and constitutional theories were affected by the increasingly acrimonious political battles over the rights of slaveholders. His analysis of Chief Justice Taney's opinion was particularly impressive. Finally, his discussion of the immediate and longer term impact of the Dred Scott decision was fascinating. When I finished the book, I was disappointed that he hadn't carried the thoughts in the last chapter further (even though it was clear he had chosen a good stopping point for his analysis). I was also tempted to go back to the beginning and re-read the book immediately! It is so rich, and there's so much of importance to understand. (Instead, I started in on Fehrenbacher's more recent book, The Slaveholding Republic.)
One of the strengths of the book is Fehrenbacher's attention to the relevants facts and texts. His text never reads like a cut-and-paste compilation of other authors' conclusions. Throughout, Fehrenbacher was doing his own thinking - and he came through as quite skilled in asking good questions, identifying all the relevant facts, weighing the possible meanings and interpretations, and arriving at fair conclusions. (Whatever the topic, it's always a pleasure to read the work of someone who works as Fehrenbacher did in this book.)
I highly recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in American legal or constitutional history, in the events that lead to the Civil War, or in race relations in America.
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Title: The Slaveholding Republic: An Account of the United States Government's Relations to Slavery by Don E. Fehrenbacher, Ward M. McAfee ISBN: 0195158059 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Marbury v. Madison : The Origins and Legacy of Judicial Review by William E. Nelson ISBN: 0700610626 Publisher: University Press of Kansas Pub. Date: 20 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Road to Disunion: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854 (Road to Disunion Vol. 1) by William W. Freehling ISBN: 0195072596 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 1991 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Prelude to Greatness Lincoln in the 1850's by D.E. Fehrenbacher ISBN: 0804701202 Publisher: Stanford University Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1962 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Impending Crisis by David Morris Potter ISBN: 0061319295 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 15 April, 1977 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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