This seminar will focus on the 19th century, which saw cotton become king on the backs of slaves, abolitionism become a force, a railroad running underground, Indian nations resisting forced removal and confinement, nativism greeting new populations arriving from around the world, a devastating Civil War, an aborted Reconstruction, the flourishing of lynch law, Jim Crow imposed, US territory multiplied by war, the creation of an overseas empire, the entrenchment of an expanded color line. Readings will include contemporary documents, such as legislative enactments and judicial opinions, complemented by recent historical and legal studies. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.