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1 results

  • 1 - The Contract Controversy

  • Giuliana Perrone, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Book:
    Nothing More than Freedom
    Published online:
    04 May 2023
    Print publication:
    11 May 2023, pp 11-37

  • Summary

    A deeply contentious judicial debate over the enforcement of contracts for the sale or hire of enslaved people erupted as one of legal Reconstruction’s central battles. This chapter explains the doctrinal approaches favored by judges, analyzes their underlying legal rationales, and explores the consequences of choosing one rationale over the others. It argues that a fundamental disagreement about the meaning of the Thirteenth Amendment caused the judicial discord. The outcome of that disgreement – the enforcement of contracts – permanently weakened the power and potential of the Thirteenth Amendment.