LAW 7081 :
American Legal History

This course will survey the role of law in American history, as well as the development of legal theories and doctrine in American law from the colonial period to the present day. Students will learn to analyze materials both as lawyers and as historians. Among the topics expected to be covered are the English antecedents of American Law, the role of law in the development of the early Republic, the law of slavery and related legal developments during the Reconstruction period, the changing approach of the law to issues relating to gender and sexual orientation, the legal response to Progressive Era reforms and to the New Deal, the use of the law to combat racial discrimination in the 1950's and 1960's, and the response of the law to Vietnam and Watergate, and legal developments in the latter part of the Twentieth Century. Exam Info: Exam administered during exam period.