Race Relations in America: A Reference Guide with Primary Documents

America has struggled with racial issues since its birth centuries ago. In this pivotal study of racism in the United States, over 90 primary documents provide compelling evidence of how race has affected and shaped our country throughout the years. A narrative overview of each event, expert analysis, the text of primary sources contemporary to the time of the event, and ready reference materials will help both high school and college students to understand how race has affected the country. From the framing of the Constitution to the removal of American Indians and the Civil War, students will learn how racism is prevalent even in today's society, be it in the war on terrorism, anti-immigrant feelings, or views against casinos on Native American reservations. Documents include excerpts from speeches, letters, pamphlets, books, essays, newspaper, magazine, and journal articles, government reports, congressional debates, laws, and court decisions. This detailed work includes an overview of racism in America, and is then followed by compelling and revealing primary documents that help to illustrate 15 key events in history. These events include:

THOMAS J. DAVIS, Ph.D., J.D., teaches history and law at Arizona State University, Tempe. He is the author of A Rumor of Revolt: The "Great Negro Plot" in Colonial New York, which the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America prized as one of the outstanding books of 1985 on race relations. He is also author of numerous articles on race and law and co-author of Africans in the Americas: A History of the Black Diaspora.