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The Cambridge History of Law in America Volume 2, The Long Nineteenth Century (1789–1920)

  • Publication: Cambridge University Press

2008, Christopher L. Tomlins, Cambridge University Press

Cover of The Cambridge History of Law in America Volume 2, The Long Nineteenth Century (1789–1920)

(eds. with Michael Grossberg) Cambridge University Press: New York, NY; 2008.

Law stands at the center of modern American life. Since the 1950s, American historians have produced an extraordinarily rich and diverse account of law and legal institutions in American history. But even though our knowledge has increased enormously, few attempts have been made to draw its many parts together in a summary and synthesis of the history of law in America. The Cambridge History of Law in America has been designed for just this purpose. Sixty of the leading historians of law in the United States have been brought together in one enterprise to present the most comprehensive and authoritative account possible of the history of American law.

The Cambridge History of Law in America has been designed for just this purpose. Sixty of the leading historians of law in the United States have been brought together in one enterprise to present the most comprehensive and authoritative account possible of the history of American law. The Cambridge History of Law in America has been made possible by the generous support of the American Bar Foundation.

Volume II of the Cambridge History of Law in America focuses on the ‘long’ nineteenth century, from the creation of the Republic to the immediate aftermath of the First World War - the century of continental expansion, urban growth, capitalist innovation, industrialization, and war. The crystallization and then, after the Civil War, the reinvention of a distinctly American state system is examined, as is the establishment and growth of systematic legal education, the spread of the legal profession, and the growing density of legal institutions. During this century, law becomes a technique of first resort wherever a person, institution, or government seeks to organize human activity. In this volume we see how law intertwines with religion, how it becomes ingrained in popular culture, and how it intersects with the distinct worlds of the American military and of international relations.