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Whence Comes Section One? The Abolitionist Origins Of The Fourteenth Amendment, Randy E. Barnett
Whence Comes Section One? The Abolitionist Origins Of The Fourteenth Amendment, Randy E. Barnett
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
The contribution of abolitionist constitutionalism to the original public meaning of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment was long obscured by a revisionist history that disparaged abolitionism, the “radical” Republicans, and their effort to establish democracy over Southern terrorism during Reconstruction. As a result, more Americans know about “carpetbaggers” than they do the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite a brief revival of interest stimulated by the writings of Howard Jay Graham and Jacobus tenBroek, in the 1970s and 1980s abolitionist constitutionalism remains obscure to law professors and even to historians of abolitionism.
This study provides important evidence of the …
Buck V. Bell: A Constitutional Tragedy From A Lost World, Victoria Nourse
Buck V. Bell: A Constitutional Tragedy From A Lost World, Victoria Nourse
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Some constitutional tragedies are well known: Plessy v. Ferguson and Korematsu v. United States are taught to every first-year law student. Buck v. Bell is not. Decided in 1927 by the Taft Court, the case is known for its shocking remedy--sterilization--and Justice Holmes's dramatic rhetoric: "Three generations of imbeciles are enough." A mere five paragraphs long, Buck v. Bell could represent the highest ratio of injustice per word ever signed on to by eight Supreme Court Justices, progressive and conservative alike.
Buck v. Bell is not a tragedy as some others might define tragedy: it is not a well-known opinion, …