"The ending of the Civil War posed as many new questions as it had answered, and nothing reflect the uncertainty and improvisation which resulted so awkwardly than the history of the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments. In this second volume of documents on the Reconstruction Amendments, Kurt Lash again does us the invaluable service of collecting a vast range of highly illuminating materials -- congressional debates and inquiries, convention calls, newspaper accounts, judicial and editorial opinions -- which will invite us to a fuller understanding of a critical constitutional moment in our republic's history. This will be bought and borrowed for reference, but it will be read for sheer, unstoppable fascination."
— Allen Carl Guelzo, Princeton University, and author of Reconstruction: A Concise History
"Lash is the nation’s leading authority on documents pertaining to civil rights in the Reconstruction era, and these volumes will be an indispensable source for scholars, abetted by Lash’s incisive commentary."
— George White, author of Law in American History: Volume One, From the Colonial Years Through the Civil War
"This remarkable work of scholarship is a gift to those who seek to understand the United States. The debates over the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments confronted fundamental and enduring issues of justice and equality. Kurt Lash’s masterful survey of the vast public discussion of the Amendments makes clear just how much was at stake. Exploring the words of anonymous citizens as well as legendary lawmakers, Lash’s collection reveals this pivotal moment in American history as we have never seen it before."
— Edward L. Ayers, recipient of the Lincoln Prize
"I just finished teaching a course on the Reconstruction Amendments and Acts at Stanford Law School, using a judicious sub-set of Lash's marvelous set of original source materials. This opens up possibilities for teaching as well as research which never existed before. The students commented especially on how helpful Lash's introductory essays to each part of the materials were. This publication is a magnificent academic achievement and a public service.”
— Michael W. McConnell, Stanford Law School
"[A] masterful two volume set. . . . Lash has produced a single, critical resource for understanding a profound moment in American constitution making—a resource that is long, long overdue. . . . Lash has produced a book that every constitutional scholar and historian needs to own."
— Balkinization