Early American Law and Society

How does law shape the way that people live together in society, and how do changes in society bring about changes in the law? How is law lived on the ground, and how did its subjects think about it and use it for their own purposes?  In this class, we will read recent and significant scholarship in the history of the early American republic (c. 1776-1840) that explores these questions, drawing on the history of the law and legal sources.

Although this class will touch on some of the better-known arguments among scholars of legal history, its approach will be more practical than theoretical. Its primary focus will not be on the evolution of American law as a conceptual matter, or on philosophical arguments about the nature of the law. Rather, students in this class will read in order to become better researchers: to learn more about how law worked in the early American republic, about the institutions through which it operated, about how it changed over time, and how it formed (and was formed by) American society. This reading-intensive class is intended for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students who are interested in the history of the law, or in conducting research projects that draw extensively on legal sources. For undergraduates, previous coursework in US history is strongly recommended.