This is not meant, however, to be a legal treatise. Although the sources are, in the main, constitutions, statutes, and court reports, an effort has been made to state the principles in an untechnical manner. Knowing that copious citations are usually irksome to those who read for general information, I have relegated all notes to the ends of the chapters for the benefit of the more curious reader who often finds them the most profitable part of a book. There he will find citations of authorities for practically every important statement made. All the chapters, except the last two, were published serially in _The American Law Review_/cite> during the year 1909. The substance of the chapter on “Separation of Races in Public Conveyances” was published also in _The American Political Science Review_ for May, 1909. I wish that I could make public acknowledgment of my indebtedness to all who have helped me in the preparation of this volume. Hundreds of public officials in the South—mayors of cities, clerks of courts, attorneys-general, superintendents of public instruction, etc.—have responded generously to my requests for information. I am thankful to Mr. John H. Arnold, Librarian of the Harvard Law School, for access to the stacks of that library, without which privilege my work would have been greatly delayed, and to his assistants for their uniform courtesy while I was making such constant demands upon them. I am under especial obligation to Professor Albert Bushnell Hart, of Harvard University, for his direction and assistance in my examination of the sources and his valuable advice while I have been preparing the material for publication in this form; also to Mr. Charles E. Grinnell, former Editor of _The American Law Review_, for his encouragement and suggestions during the preparation of the articles for his magazine. Lastly, I would express my gratitude to Mr. Charles Vernon Imlay, of the New York Bar, the value of whose painstaking help in the revision of the manuscript of this book is truly inestimable. GILBERT THOMAS STEPHENSON. WARREN PLACE, PENDLETON, N. C. June 1, 1910. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE INTRODUCTORY 1–11 What is a Race Distinction in Law 1 Distinctions and Discriminations Contrasted 2 Legal and Actual Distinctions 5 All Race Elements Included 6 Period Covered from 1865 to Present 7 CHAPTER II WHAT IS A NEGRO? 12–25 Legal Definition of Negro 12