CONTENTS

Introduction

Prologue—Overthrow

1. Who Votes?

2. Two Amendments . . .

3. Power in Black and White

The Klan

4. . . . and a Third

Equal Rights Comes to the Ballot Box

5. A Fragile Illusion

6. Any Way You Slice It

The Slaughter-House Cases

7. Equality by Law

The Civil Rights Act of 1875

8. The Uncertainty of Language

United States v. Reese

9. Rutherfraud Ascends, but Not Equal Rights

10. A Slight Case of Murder

The Strange Journey of Strauder v. West Virginia

11. Tightening the Knot

Virginia v. Rives

12. Strangling the Constitution

The Civil Rights Cases

13. The Curious Incident of the Chinese Laundry and Equal Protection

14. Mississippi Leads the South

15. The First Test

Mills v. Green

16. Peer Review

Williams v. Mississippi

17. Refining Redemption

18. Forging an Attack

19. The Window Slams Shut

Giles v. Harris

Epilogue—Stolen Justice

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

Index