Race, Place, and the Law, 1836-1948 / Edition 1

by David Delaney

Overview

Black and white Americans have occupied separate spaces since the days of "the big house" and "the quarters." But the segregation and racialization of American society was not a natural phenomenon that "just happened." The decisions, enacted into laws, that kept the races apart and restricted blacks to less desirable places sprang from legal reasoning which argued that segregated spaces were right, reasonable, and preferable to other arrangements.

In this book, David Delaney explores the historical intersections of race, place, and the law. Drawing on court cases spanning more than a century, he examines the moves and countermoves of attorneys and judges who participated in the geopolitics of slavery and emancipation; in the development of Jim Crow segregation, which effectively created apartheid laws in many cities; and in debates over the "doctrine of changed conditions," which challenged the legality of restrictive covenants and private contracts designed to exclude people of color from white neighborhoods. This historical investigation yields new insights into the patterns of segregation that persist in American society today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292715974
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	05/01/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	239
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

David Delaney teaches in the Department of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought at Amherst College.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• 1. Orientations
• 2. Geographies of Slavery and Emancipation
• 3. Legal Reasoning and the Geopolitics of Nineteenth-Century Race Relations
• 4. The Geopolitics of Jim Crow
• 5. The Reasonableness of Jim Crow Geographies
• 6. Restrictive Space and the Doctrine of Changed Conditions
• 7. Epilogue
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index

What People are Saying About This

Nicholas K. Blomley

Delaney's argument is original, provocative, and very creative.
-- Nicholas K. Blomley, author of Law, Space, and the Geographies of Power

Editorial Reviews

Explores the origins of regulations that kept blacks and whites apart and restricted blacks to less desirable living spaces, drawing on court cases spanning more than a century. Examines the moves of attorneys and judges who participated in the geopolitics of slavery and emancipation; in the development of Jim Crow laws; and in debates which challenged the legality of restrictive covenants designed to exclude people of color from white neighborhoods. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews