Based on the author's thesis (doctoral -Louisiana State University, 2005) issued under title: Rights of humans, rights of states : the academic legacy of St. George Tucker in nineteenth-century Virginia. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
Introduction : Rights of Humans, Rights of States -- Reconsidering the Necessary Evil Argument : Natural Rights and Slavery in St. George Tucker's Virginia -- The Constitutional Education of St. George Tucker -- Slavery, Honor, and Higher Education in Henry Tucker's Virginia -- The Divided Legacy of a Founding Father : Henry and Beverley Tucker Confront Nullification and Secession -- The Legacy Betrayed : Classic Natural Right and the Emergence of the Positive Good Argument -- A Legacy Transformed : Secession, the Lost Cause, and John Randolph Tucker's Proposal for the Incorporation of the Fourteenth Amendment -- Epilogue.
Summary:
"This is a study of a long line of discussions, begun by St. George Tucker and carried out by his sons and other southern intellectuals, about the implications of natural rights principles upon the status of slavery and the relation between federal and state power. While often treated by historians monolithically as universal defenders of slavery, southern constitutional scholars often had surprisingly nuanced, carefully thought-out views, some of which recognized the inherent contradictions of the strong natural rights position expressed in the nation's founding documents, particularly the Declaration of Independence, and the existence of human bondage. The manuscript examines the effect of this long debate on states' rights, Federal rights, secession, the Civil War, and Reconstruction"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.