Race, Citizenship, and Law in American Literature (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture, Series Number 128)

Gregg Crane examines the interaction between civic identity and race and justice within American law and literature in this study. He recounts the efforts of literary and legal figures to bring the nation's law in accord with the moral consensus that slavery and racial oppression are evil. Covering such writers as Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frederick Douglass, and a range of novelists, poets, philosophers, politicians, lawyers and judges, this original book will revise the relationship between race and nationalism in American literature. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 5 Title......Page 7 Copyright......Page 8 Dedication......Page 9 Contents......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction......Page 15 CHAPTER 1 Higher law in the 1850s......Page 26 HIGHER LAW PRECEDENTS......Page 32 THE REPUBLICAN TRADITION......Page 34 RIGHTS......Page 37 RESEMBLANCE: IDENTITY AS POLITICS......Page 40 RELIGION......Page 41 PROGRESS......Page 43 COSMOPOLITANISM......Page 44 THE EBB OF HIGHER LAW......Page 46 HIGHER LAW AND CONSENT......Page 54 A POLITICAL BENCHMARK FOR HIGHER LAW IN THE 1850S......Page 60 CHAPTER 2 The look of higher law: Harriet Beecher Stowe's antislavery fiction......Page 70 STOWE'S HIGHER LAW PICTURES......Page 73 STOWE AND SUMNER......Page 91 CHAPTER 3 Cosmopolitan constitutionalism: Emerson and Douglass......Page 101 LABILE JUSTICE AND THE SCIENCE OF LIBERTY–EMERSON’S HIGHER LAW THEORY......Page 106 DOUGLASS’S COSMOPOLITAN CONSTITUTIONALISM......Page 118 CHAPTER 4 The positivist alternative......Page 145 THE COLOR OF POWER: MARTIN DELANY AND ROGER TANEY......Page 152 DRED SCOTT......Page 162 HOLMES’S FATALISM......Page 172 BLACK COMEDY: BLACK CITIZENSHIP AND JIM CROW POSITIVISM......Page 179 CHAPTER 5 Charles Chesnutt and Moorfield Storey: citizenship and the flux of contract......Page 197 INTRODUCTION......Page 237 1 HIGHER LAW IN THE 1850S......Page 238 2 THE LOOK OF HIGHER LAW: HARRIET BEECHER STOWE’S ANTISLAVERY FICTION......Page 252 3 COSMOPOLITAN CONSTITUTIONALISM: EMERSON AND DOUGLASS......Page 262 4 THE POSITIVIST ALTERNATIVE......Page 274 5 CHARLES CHESNUTT AND MOORFIELD STOREY: CITIZENSHIP AND THE FLUX OF CONTRACT......Page 290 Index......Page 307 Publisher Description (unedited Publisher Data) In This Broad Ranging And Powerful Study, Gregg Crane Examines The Interaction Between Civic Identity, Race And Justice In American Law And Literature. Crane Recounts The Efforts Of Literary And Legal Figures To Bring The Nation's Law Into Line With The Moral Consensus That Slavery And Racial Oppression Were Evil. By Documenting An Actual Historical Interaction Central Both To American Literature And American Constitutional Law, Crane Reveals The Influence Of Literature On The Constitutional Discourse Of Citizenship. Covering Such Writers As Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson And Frederick Douglass, And A Whole Range Of Novelists, Poets, Philosophers, Politicians, Lawyers And Judges, This Is A Remarkably Original Book, That Will Revise The Relationship Between Race And Nationalism In American Literature. Library Of Congress Subject Headings For This Publication: American Literature History And Criticism, Law In Literature, Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896 Views On Slavery, African Americans In Literature, Citizenship In Literature, Slavery In Literature, Racism In Literature, Law And Literature, Race In Literature. Higher Law In The 1850s -- The Look Of Higher Law: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Antislavery Fiction -- Cosmopolitan Constitutionalism: Emerson And Douglass -- The Positivist Alternative -- Charles Chesnutt And Moorfield Storey: Citizenship And The Flux Of Contract. By Gregg D. Crane. Series Numbering Provided By Vendor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In this broad ranging and powerful study, Gregg Crane examines the interaction between civic identity, race and justice in American law and literature. Crane recounts the efforts of literary and legal figures to bring the nation's law into line with the moral consensus that slavery and racial oppression were evil. By documenting an actual historical interaction central both to American literature and American constitutional law, Crane reveals the influence of literature on the constitutional discourse of citizenship. Covering such writers as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frederick Douglass, and a whole range of novelists, poets, philosophers, politicians, lawyers and judges, this is a remarkable book, that will revise the relationship between race and nationalism in American literature.