Reviews for Short History of France from Early Times to 1972

The average rating for Short History of France from Early Times to 1972 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-06-18 00:00:00 Jack Parrish Using the case of Richard and Mildred Loving who lived in Virginia (which had a miscegenation law) but married in Washington, D.C. (which had no such law) and who were arrested in their own bedroom in Virginia in 1958 a few weeks after they got married, Wallenstein takes a close look at the history of race and marriage in the United States. He goes back to the 17th century to the first miscegenation laws of the country, through the addition of more as blacks became more numerous in the country. He continues through the Civil War and Reconstruction and shows how the laws disappeared and then reappeared. He also shows how more states added miscegenation laws and included other races besides black in the restrictions, how the definitions changed from 1/4 black to a single drop. Even thought the Lovings won their case at the US Supreme Court in 1967 and due to the various briefs submitted by friends of the court, like the Japanese American Citizens League, the decision made all miscegenation laws across the states unconstitutional, it was not until 2000 that the last miscegenation law (in Alabama) came off the books. Others still fought battles, but they didn't last long and they always won. I found it fascinating, and especially liked the cases stated here that made the reader see how it affected people in real ways.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-10-06 00:00:00 Teresa Fajardo This is really a fascinating book. I couldn't put it down. Reading this book makes me appreciative of being in an Interracial relationship without shame except for a few ignorant. I highly recommend this book to people who are in Interracial Relationships or considering to be in it.