Reconstruction State Constitutional Conventions and the Rebirth of American Schooling

In the state constitutional conventions of the Reconstruction South, biracial coalitions of delegates constitutionalized universal public-school systems and kept their constitutions free from mandatory segregated schooling.

These oft-overlooked constitutional actors illuminate the true legal relationship between our nation’s history and the current educational landscape.

A rebirth of American education occurred in the state constitutional conventions of the Reconstruction South.

At a moment of national constitutional reformation, biracial coalitions of delegates constitutionalized universal public-school systems, viewing them as a core component of remaking their states in the image of the U.S.

These delegates succeeded in keeping their constitutions free from the language of segregated schooling.

This ill-understood history severely troubles the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence of the schoolhouse.

Author's summary: Reconstruction conventions remade American education.

The Yale Law Journal — 2025-10-31

Reconstruction State Constitutional Conventions and the Rebirth of American Schooling

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