Research To The Change Of Constitutional Protection System About African-American Rights

Blacks as a unique race on the territory of the United States has been the object which sociologists, historians, jurists and economists concerned about. From 1620 when the first group of blacks arrived in the United States to the 1960s when civil rights movement happened, the legal status of African-American experienced tremendous changes from slavery to freedom again to the right American citizen whose rights had been safeguarded explicitly. Academic achievements about the history of the African American struggles are very rich in history field. There are many research results in legal field which involves the researches to the legislation and the constitutional cases about African American. There are also many significant results about the economic analysis of African American slavery in the economic field. But it is very scarce to research the question of the Constitutional protection system evolution about African-American rights with new institutional economics view using the theory of institutional change. Therefore the thesis chooses this new view to research the question of the Constitutional protection system evolution about African-American rights. The paper takes the historical development of the African-American for own liberation and the equal rights as the warp, takes the analysis method of the institutional change theory in new institutional economics as the latitude, takes the United States Congress and the federal Supreme court's institutions about the African-American as the outline, and then combines the history science, the legal science, and the economic science to analyze the dynamic factors and the changed path of the constitutional protection system about African- American rights. This kind of research will help develop the new research areas of law and economics and promote the further integration of the economic history and legal history.The thesis is composed by three parts : the preface, the main body and the conclusion. The preface introduces the object of research, status quo of domestic and foreign research, significance of the research and the important theoretical analysis frame of this thesis. The main part is divided into four chapters to interpret the status quo, dynamic factors and the change path of the constitutional protection system about African American rights in different historical periods respectively.The first chapter: from the colonial era to the former of American civil war (1620-1860), the deficiency of the constitutional protection system about African American rights. In this period , the South slave-owner class and the North bourgeois class achieved compromises unceasingly in order to pursue their own potential profits at the expense of the African American rights, their behavior made slave system spread rapidly in American territory, the existence of slave system is the cause of the deficiency. As African American group's negotiations power was very weak in this period , South and North interest groups controled American government, their self-interest behavior and the indifferent ideology to African Americans caused the constitutional protection system about African American rights into a rigid, inefficient and locked path dependence. At that time, the United States did not internalize the African American rights into their constitutional system.The second chapter: from Civil war to postwar reconstruction (1860-1877), generation stage of the constitutional protection system about African American rights. The civil war broke the rigid constitutional system by the compulsory vicissitude's way , the blacks become into American citizens and obtained protection in legal. In this period the United States Congress supplied adapt institutional arrangements unceasingly under Republican Party's leadership, which caused the constitutional protection system about African American rights to form a brand-new system, it presented evolutional change unceasingly in legislation. However, as a compromise between interest groups, the rigidity social ideology and pre-slave-owner remnant force's resisting, the constitutional protection system about African American rights did not fully take effect in area of justice, showing the locked path dependence.The third chapter: from the end of reconstruction to the former of Roosevelt new deal, (1877-1933), rigidity stage of the constitutional protection system about African American rights. Under the reconstruction constitutional system's protection, American economy obtained considerable development, transited from the non-monopoly capitalism to the monopoly capitalism gradually. The development of the U.S. economy had brought many social problems, the blacks' problem was particularly serious, the reconstruction constitutional system could not adapt to the rapid development of society. At that time, the interest group's advantage behavior and the social ideology deprived African American rights which protected by the constitutional system in the thick racial discrimination atmosphere, the constitutional protection system fell into locked path dependence.The fourth chapter: from Roosevelt new deal to the 20th century civil rights movement (1933-1973), newborn stage of the constitutional protection system about African American rights. The Roosevelt new deal had a good drive function to the American constitutional system's change. At this period, the blacks group's negotiations power rose rapidly, which effectively restricted the choice of American government, the United States had a gradual change in social ideology, and the government offered effective institutional arrangements to protect the blacks' rights unceasingly, the constitutional protection system about African American rights had evolutional changes and formed the second reconstruction in civil rights history.The third part is a conclusion, we may draw the following conclusion by analyzing the historical evolution,dynamic factors and the change path of the constitutional protection system about African American rights.First, the constitutional protection system about African American rights evolves in a special regime , in which the powers are separate , they check and balance each other. It can be said that special regime in American carries on the change of the constitutional protection system about African American rights.Second, the primitive force for the change of the constitutional protection system about African American rights is the rational social body's pursue to the benefit.Third, the social ideology changes rigidly in short-term and changes slowly in long-term ,which is the important factor for the change of the constitutional protection system about African American rights.Finally, the constitutional protection system about African American rights presents a typical characteristics of path dependence observed from the entire course development of the system .