American Legal History

This research paper examines the dominant themes in American legal history and thought during the period 1865-1985. In pursuing the ideal goal of a government of laws and not men, connflicts have arisen since the end of the Civil War in legal jurisprudence and the case law because: (1) legal philosophers and judges are prone to human bias. They have been influenced by the political passions of their day and must in a democracy take into account public opinion and political realities; (2) law inevitably involves value judgements and choices between competing interests, which evolve and change over time; and (3) if the credibility of the legal process and its integrity are to be preserved, judicial restraint is essential in a government of divided powers and in a system of federalism, but courts must at times exercise leadership in order to formulate legal doctrines which anticipate the needs of society over the long run.

The theme of this paper is that the law has evolved to meet the expanding needs of a dynamic, growing and changing society. The Supreme Court in particular has generally struck a good balance between sensitivity to the public will and to the prerogatives of other branches of government, has been attentive to the requirements of federalism and has exercised leadership in keeping within reasonable bounds arbitrary or subjectively motivated governmental actions. At times, legal thinkers and the S

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nown as 'Brandeis briefs' which contained sociological and psychological evidence of objective conditions to justify various forms of regulation. Greater accountability of large corporations for the consequences of their acts were imposed by some state courts, such as the decision of the New York Court of Appeals in McPherson v. Buick Motor Co. (1916), which imposed product liability on a manufacturer of a defective and unsafe motor car. In his opinion, Judge Benjamin Cardozo greatly expanded the type of activities which were deemed hazardous and legally culpable. The American economy continued to grow and become more inter-related, which produced a corresponding expansion of government regulation and power at all levels. The Supreme Court generally upheld the constitutionality of the regulatory legislation of the Progressive era. When, however, the administration went too far as it did in the Palmer raids of 1918-1920, the Supreme Court through a series of decisions in the area of free speech placed limitations on the power of the federal government to infringe First Amendment rights. This new trend began with Holmes' powerful dissent in Abrams et al. v. United States (1919) from the decision of the Court affirming a conviction
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Approximate Word count = 3217
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

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