Description
The period between 1812 and 1861 is called the Interbellum Era by U.S. historians as it was an era when the United States was constantly growing westward and working out the kinks of the Constitution, including the habitual problem of slavery. In this new book, University of Chicago Professor Alison LaCroix takes the readers on an in-depth and legal look at the Interbellum Era and how lawyers, jurists, presidents and other leaders defined, changed definitions and made the Constitution work for a rapidly growing Republic from its original thirteen small colonies hugging the coast.
Some readers may be daunted by the size of the work but it is well worth the journey to discover how the U.S. and state governments learned to work together, share power and the federal government to have ultimate authority over the states, which was not always a sure thing in the early years of America, as many states were used to being their own sovereign country in a way and not used to sharing with others. The book mainly follows legal cases, opinions and other written documents to chart the winding path during an uncertain era.
