{"product_id":"sex-and-the-constitution-sex-religion-and-law-from-americas-origins-to-the-twenty-first-century-9780871404695","title":"Sex and the Constitution: Sex, Religion, and Law from America's Origins to the Twenty-First Century","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeginning his volume in the ancient and medieval worlds, Geoffrey R. Stone demonstrates how the Founding Fathers, deeply influenced by their philosophical forebears, saw traditional Christianity as an impediment to the pursuit of happiness and to the quest for human progress. Acutely aware of the need to separate politics from the divisive forces of religion, the Founding Fathers crafted a constitution that expressed the fundamental values of the Enlightenment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough the Second Great Awakening later came to define America through the lens of evangelical Christianity, nineteenth-century Americans continued to view sex as a matter of private concern, so much so that sexual expression and information about contraception circulated freely, abortions before \"quickening\" remained legal, and prosecutions for sodomy were almost nonexistent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries reversed such tolerance, however, as charismatic spiritual leaders and barnstorming politicians rejected the values of our nation's founders. Spurred on by Anthony Comstock, America's most feared enforcer of morality, new laws were enacted banning pornography, contraception, and abortion, with Comstock proposing that the word \"unclean\" be branded on the foreheads of homosexuals. Women increasingly lost control of their bodies, and birth control advocates, like Margaret Sanger, were imprisoned for advocating their beliefs. In this new world, abortions were for the first time relegated to dank and dangerous back rooms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe twentieth century gradually saw the emergence of bitter divisions over issues of sexual \"morality\" and sexual freedom. Fiercely determined organizations and individuals on both the right and the left wrestled in the domains of politics, religion, public opinion, and the courts to win over the soul of the nation. With its stirring portrayals of Supreme Court justices, \u003cem\u003eSex and the Constitution\u003c\/em\u003e reads like a dramatic gazette of the critical cases they decided, ranging from \u003cem\u003eGriswold v. Connecticut\u003c\/em\u003e (contraception), to \u003cem\u003eRoe v. Wade\u003c\/em\u003e (abortion), to \u003cem\u003eObergefell v. Hodges\u003c\/em\u003e (gay marriage), with Stone providing vivid historical context to the decisions that have come to define who we are as a nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, though, after the 2016 presidential election, we seem to have taken a huge step backward, with the progress of the last half century suddenly imperiled. No one can predict the extent to which constitutional decisions safeguarding our personal freedoms might soon be eroded, but \u003cem\u003eSex and the Constitution\u003c\/em\u003e is more vital now than ever before.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Liveright Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/21\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780871404695\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 704\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2016 pg. 61\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/02\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2017 pg. 6\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2017 pg. 107\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2017 pg. 101\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2016\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Geoffrey R. Stone","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52379389493429,"sku":"9780871404695","price":29.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_5905de77-9045-4e41-b90b-f6e90ec8da73.jpg?v=1774372607","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/sex-and-the-constitution-sex-religion-and-law-from-americas-origins-to-the-twenty-first-century-9780871404695","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}