Rule of Law in the Civil War Era

Registration may have closed, but still we’ll note that the Fourth Hon. Mark R. Kravitz Symposium of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, The Arc of the Rule of Law, takes place this morning via Zoom.  

Although the Rule of Law has been discussed over the past year in numerous settings and from varying perspectives, there has been little mention of the decade in our Nation’s history when the Rule of Law definitively changed.  Between the 1850s, when the Fugitive Slave Act was vigorously enforced, and the 1860s, when the Reconstruction Amendments ended slavery, defined citizenship, and guaranteed voting rights, the Rule of Law in America was dramatically transformed.  Yet, the effectiveness of that transformation continues to be debated.  What does it take to change the Rule of Law?

Please join our moderator and presenters for a conversation about our Nation’s earlier experience in changing the Rule of Law, how it fell short, and possible lessons for our consideration today.  Questions will be encouraged. 

The Moderator is Matthew Warshauer, Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University.  Presenters are Earl M. Maltz, Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University School of Law; John F. Witt, Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor, Yale Law School; and Manisha Sinha, Draper Chair in American History, University of Connecticut.

--Dan Ernst