Pamela Brandwein is Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. She is the author of Reconstructing Reconstruction: The Supreme Court and the Production of Historical Truth.

“In a sophisticated analysis of the connection between politics and constitutional law, Professor Brandwein revolutionizes our understanding of the role the federal courts played in defining national power to protect civil and political rights during and after Reconstruction.” —Michael Les Benedict, Emeritus Professor of History, The Ohio State University

• 1. Introduction; 2. The emergence of the concept of state neglect, 1867–73; 3. The civil/social distinction: an intramural Republican debate; 4. The birth of state action doctrine, 1874–6; 5. A surviving sectional context, 1876–91; 6. The Civil Rights Cases and the language of state neglect; 7. Definitive judicial abandonment and residual expressions, 1896–1909; 8. A loss of context: the rise of distorted knowledge about state action doctrine; 9. Conclusion.

Pamela Brandwein is Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan. She is the author of Reconstructing Reconstruction: The Supreme Court and the Production of Historical Truth.

“In a sophisticated analysis of the connection between politics and constitutional law, Professor Brandwein revolutionizes our understanding of the role the federal courts played in defining national power to protect civil and political rights during and after Reconstruction.” —Michael Les Benedict, Emeritus Professor of History, The Ohio State University

• 1. Introduction; 2. The emergence of the concept of state neglect, 1867–73; 3. The civil/social distinction: an intramural Republican debate; 4. The birth of state action doctrine, 1874–6; 5. A surviving sectional context, 1876–91; 6. The Civil Rights Cases and the language of state neglect; 7. Definitive judicial abandonment and residual expressions, 1896–1909; 8. A loss of context: the rise of distorted knowledge about state action doctrine; 9. Conclusion.