Race Distinctions in American Law

"Race Distinctions in American Law" by Gilbert Thomas Stephenson is a study from the early 1900s that explores how the law treats different races, particularly looking at the effects on African Americans after they were freed from slavery. The book looks into the laws that separated people by race and how these laws changed society. It starts by talking about the problems of race in America and how complicated things became after the Civil War. Stephenson explains that he wants to find out how laws based on race were made and kept in place after 1865, and how this affected the way people lived. He stresses that it is crucial to examine these laws to see how they affected different groups, arguing that it's not just about discrimination; these racial differences in the law have big effects on civil rights and what it means to be a citizen in America.