The Freedmen's Bureau was an extraordinary agency established by Congress in 1865, born of the expansion of federal power during the Civil War and the Union's desire to protect and provide for the South's emancipated slaves. Charged with the mandate to change the southern racial "status quo" in education, civil rights, and labor, the Bureau was in a position to play a crucial role in the implementation of Reconstruction policy. The ineffectiveness of the Bureau in Georgia and other southern states has often been blamed on the racism of its northern administrators, but Paul A. Cimbala finds the explanation to be much more complex. In this remarkably balanced account, he blames the failure on a combination of the Bureau's northern free-labor ideology, limited resources, and temporary nature--as well as deeply rooted white southern hostility toward change. Because of these factors, the Bureau in practice left freedpeople and ex-masters to create their own new social, political, and economic arrangements.
Imagine a system of justice in this country that strips its citizens of their Constitutional rights, voids their existing legal documents, gives others the right to spend their money and sell their assets, isolates them, and has the ability to limit the time they can spend with their loved ones. While you may be thinking of the criminal justice system, the previous description refers to a parallel system that preys on the elderly and is determined to deem them unable to care for themselves. It is a system that allows those in control to take full advantage of their “wards of the state”—legally and under the watchful eyes of judges. It is called guardianship. Guardianship exists in every state, and while it has gone under the radar for many decades, Dr. Sam Sugar’s new book, Guardianships and the Elderly, sheds light on this system, which enables those in-the-know to commit “the perfect crime.” Dr. Sugar, a licensed physician and president of the Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship (AAAPG), as well as a victim of the system himself, has written a unique guide that can be used by anyone caught up in the world of guardianship. The book begins by looking at the history of guardianship—from ancient times till today. It then provides a clear overview of how this system is set up to work—from the triggers that set it off to the different groups of people that make up the process: the judges, the guardians, and all their associates. The book goes on to detail the responsibilities given to these players and describes how easily they can manipulate the system to their own advantage. It also presents an accurate picture of just how difficult it is to free a family member from the system. There are things loved ones can do to fight the system, to be sure, but many obstacles and pitfalls await them in the battle. This book is meant to prepare the reader for these eventualities and includes a comprehensive glossary, a helpful resource section, and a number of documents that may prove useful in the pursuit of real justice. While the press has exposed some of the most heinous crimes committed by guardians, for the most part, those who know how to work the system continue to plunder their victims’ estates. Guardianships and the Elderly is designed to explain the guardianship process clearly and make the reader aware of the common violations carried out by court insiders and their affiliates. The information found in this book can serve as a powerful tool when it comes to uncovering their crimes.
This book comprises a compilation of chapter-essays from some of the world's leading authorities on adult guardianship law. The essays cover a wide range of topics from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Part I of the book introduces some of the basic concepts that transcend the national guardianship system, approaching these concepts from a comparative perspective. Part II's essays provide comprehensive information on guardianship systems around the world. Essays in Part III outline an ambitious agenda for reforming adult guardianship regimes. The book is a must read for those concerned with the role of national and international law in defining and expanding the rights of older persons and persons with disabilities who are at risk of being placed under guardianship due to cognitive or other disabilities.
In this intriguing and innovative work, James D. Schmidt examines federal efforts to establish "free labor" in the South during and after the Civil War by exploring labor law in the antebellum North and South and its role in the development of a capitalist labor market. Identifying the emergence of conservative, moderate, and liberal stances on state intervention in the labor market, Schmidt develops three important case studies--wartime Reconstruction in Louisiana, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Freedmen's Bureau--to conclude that the reconstruction of free labor in the South failed in large part because of the underdeveloped and contradictory state of labor law. The same legal principles, Schmidt argues, triumphed in the postwar North to produce a capitalist market in labor.
What do we owe Iraq? America is up to its neck in nation building--but the public debate, focused on getting the troops home, devotes little attention to why we are building a new Iraqi nation, what success would look like, or what principles should guide us. What We Owe Iraq sets out to shift the terms of the debate, acknowledging that we are nation building to protect ourselves while demanding that we put the interests of the people being governed--whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, or elsewhere--ahead of our own when we exercise power over them. Noah Feldman argues that to prevent nation building from turning into a paternalistic, colonialist charade, we urgently need a new, humbler approach. Nation builders should focus on providing security, without arrogantly claiming any special expertise in how successful nation-states should be made. Drawing on his personal experiences in Iraq as a constitutional adviser, Feldman offers enduring insights into the power dynamics between the American occupiers and the Iraqis, and tackles issues such as Iraqi elections, the prospect of successful democratization, and the way home. Elections do not end the occupier's responsibility. Unless asked to leave, we must resist the temptation of a military pullout before a legitimately elected government can maintain order and govern effectively. But elections that create a legitimate democracy are also the only way a nation builder can put itself out of business and--eventually--send its troops home. Feldman's new afterword brings the Iraq story up-to-date since the book's original publication in 2004, and asks whether the United States has acted ethically in pushing the political process in Iraq while failing to control the security situation; it also revisits the question of when, and how, to withdraw.
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, better known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the spring of 1865 to help white and black Southerners make the transition from slavery to freedom, while securing the basic civil rights of the ex-slaves. It failed to accomplish what its creators had hoped, but its history tells us much about why Northerners and Southerners, whites and blacks, approached Reconstruction in the way that they did and why that failure occurred. The Freedmen's Bureau: Reconstructing the American South after the Civil War is a succinct summary of the agency's history accompanied by key documents that illustrate Northern ideology, black expectations, and white Southern resistance. Topics of the day, including labor, education, violence, politics, and justice place the federal agency within the larger context of post-Civil War history.
This book offers the first full examination of the legal role of public guardianship in 25 years, comparing current conditions to those when the last study was published in 1981. Public Guardianship: In the Best Interests of Incapacitated People? is written to advance public understanding of what happens to disabled and elderly adults when no family member or friend is available to be a caregiver or guardian should it become necessary. It is the first major study on this critically important issue since 1981. Conducted by experts in gerontology, social work, public policy, and public health, it finds that, although progress has been made, guardianship programs around the country still are hampered by limited staff and resources. Public Guardianship analyzes the full range of state statutes governing guardianship, including guardian eligibility, investigation, due process, rights, powers, costs, and monitoring. The authors report their case studies of public guardianship programs, marshaling and comparing field data from their surveys of stakeholders in ten states. The book concludes with a variety of recommendations for improving guardianship programs, including the authors' Model Public Guardian Act.
