American Legal History

3 units

A survey of the development of law and legal institutions in American History since the Founding, examining continuity and change in the English legal tradition under the impact of social, economic, and political forces. Coverage will be comprehensive (from Blackstone to Brandeis), examining the way that our modern actions in property, tort, and nuisance emerged from the ancient English system of writs. The course will emphasize the way that the law has responded to external factors by redefining the status and rights of individuals and by creating legal institutions to empower, protect, or restrain. Among the topics covered will be: constitutional originalism; the creation of a theory and practice of appellate justice; the emergence of modern legal education and the law firm; the creation of modern property rights (in objects and in persons, including chattel slavery); the power of race in creating legal double standards; the status of women and children; crime and punishment (including the regulation of religion, sexuality, and reproduction); the balance of private rights and public welfare. In understanding the way law changes, attention will also be given to the competing roles of bench, bar, and jury; statute and common law (and equity); and law versus norms. The purpose of this course is to provide an understanding and appreciation of the historical foundations of law and lawyering as practiced today, and to enable practitioners to use historical argumentation and challenge historical fallacies in the courtroom. Three hours of lecture and discussion. Open-book, 3 hour final exam. Same as L98 AMCS 698, L22 History 5909, L32 Pol Sci 598. 3 units.