American Legal History: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #375

by G. Edward White

Law has played a central role in American history. From colonial times to the present, law has not just reflected the changing society in which legal decisions have been made-it has played a powerful role in shaping that society, though not always in positive ways.

Eminent legal scholar G. Edward White-author of the ongoing, multi-volume Law in American History-offers a compact overview that sheds light on the impact of law on a number of key social issues. Rather than offer a straight chronological history, the book instead traces important threads woven throughout our nation's past, looking at how law shaped Native American affairs, slavery, business, and home life, as well as how it has dealt with criminal and civil offenses. White shows that law has not always been used to exemplary ends. For instance, a series of decisions by the Marshall court essentially marginalized Amerindians, indigenous people of the Americas, reducing tribes to wards of the government. Likewise, law initially legitimated slavery in the United States, and legal institutions, including the Supreme Court, failed to resolve the tensions stirred up by the westward expansion of slavery, eventually sparking the Civil War. White also looks at the expansion of laws regarding
property rights, which were vitally important to the colonists, many of whom left Europe hoping to become land owners; the evolution of criminal punishment from a public display (the stocks, the gallows) to a private prison system; the rise of tort law after the Civil War; and the progress in legal education, moving from informal apprenticeships and lax standards to modern law schools and rigorous bar exams.

In this illuminating look at the pivotal role of law in American life, White offers us an excellent first step to a better appreciation of the function of law in our society.

About the
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Genres: History, Law, Nonfiction, American History, Audiobook, Politics, American

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

G. Edward White is the David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1983.

Reviews

[May Ling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: In fairness, this book delivers on the title, so maybe 3.5 stars. Almost too concise.

The book does go through legal history, but more as a concept. It talks about the forming of America. If you think about it, there really isn't legal history until you establish a nation and a concept of it. In 1700s and earlier, it would have just been this weird thing we did, like a pact. But the way we did it with the American Indians, both looks like that and doesn't. Right, think about how that is weird as a concept. They try to go to court to be nice, but then we kind of slaughter them. It's horrible and yet we do have this thing afterwards with respect to their land rights.

Each chapter is like that, whether it's race relations, criminality, civil injuries and more.

The issue is that halfway through you realize this book could have been a crazy telling of law and what we think of as legal and not legal. This nation is so weird with so many weird stories that way. But it fails to use examples effectively and falls short of what was possible.

That said, they promised to be short. So I can see why they might have left out all of the stakes. You're left wondering.

[Jacob Lines · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Very Short Introduction series does an incredible job of getting the best people to write about their specialties. G. Edward White is a titan of American legal history, so I jumped at this book. I have read a few books on the subject before, and I really appreciated this one for its brevity and clarity. I found it very helpful to have the book arranged thematically. Not only does it make the subject easier to digest, but it makes for a more interesting story, since we don’t have to skip from topic to topic. And I really like that he began the book with the legal history of Indian tribes – not only because it makes sense chronologically, but because so many histories of American law overlook Indian law, even though it poses fundamental questions about the legitimacy of our existing law and the subject never goes away. Overall, this is an excellent short history of American law. I recommend it for those just getting started on the topic and those lawyers that never got around to learning the history of what they learned in law school.

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so much a legal history as a history that occasionally says that “law factored into this in various ways.” Decently well-written but oddly organized.

[Marcus Vinicius · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Development of Law in America
Distinct moments in the formation of american legal system are pointed and explained in this short book. The historical landscape and its reflections in the law are explained in order to give the reader a comprehensive view of the field. With sections about natives tribes’ law, African-American traditions and distinct patterns of colonizations in America with its law developments, the book provides useful informations. Good overview. Readable introduction. Profitable reading.

[Ruchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

V dope book! Thoughtful about marginalized groups (more than I expected at least). Particularly has info about the forced employment of prisoners a la ‘slavery by another name’ and private oppressive Institutions…Neat organizing even if it’s stuff I already I know, also a birds eye view is super helpful. Should be on the list of books everyone should read!

[Bill Dauster · Rating 5 out of 5]

White brings enough contrarian sensibility to America's interaction with Native Americans, African Americans, and our subsequent economic development to make this legal history a fascinating lens through which to see our Country.

[Josh Friedlander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts with relations between Native Americans and European settlers. Dissonance between different legal models of ownership: for the so-called Indians, land was owned communally and used for hunting. Europeans wanted to enclose the land for agriculture. Initially the courts treated them as equals whose land could only be bought through negotiation; however, Westward expansion led to the nullification of many of their territorial claims and their assignment to "reservations", ostensibly humanitarian but also clearing the way for settlement. The Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 ended recognition of tribes as independent nations. In Elk v. Wilkins (1884), the court understood the Fourteenth Amendment as excluding Indians from U.S. citizenship, but the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act made most of them citizens.

The citizenship rights of black slaves were the focus of the (in)famous Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which was an attempt to balance between the property rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment, and the abolitionist views of northern states. The "house divided against itself could not stand", and after the Civil War the "Reconstruction Amendments" overturned it.

The next part of the book deals with the evolution of torts from something emerging in contract (only when there is an explicit obligation to pay for damages) to an implicit "duty of care" placed by society on people who have the ability to cause accidents, though in Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. judge Benjamin Cardozo limited this liability. The evolution of industrial machines and automobiles increased everyday hazards, and worker's compensation funds as well as mandatory "no-fault" automobile insurance policies are signs of this liability being built into the economic fabric of society. (If you are riveted by the topic, the same author offers a less short introduction in Tort Law in America: An Intellectual History)

A section on family law covers evolving views on divorce, abortion, and the rights of children, as well as more recent changes such as the 1992 Defense of Marriage Act which was declared unconsitutional by the court in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

Finally the book discusses the professionalisation of legal education over time. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. attended Harvard Law School for three semesters and then left, having felt he'd learned enough; there was no formal degree or graduation process! But the American Bar Association, founded in 1878, pushed for formal requirements, including requiring an undergraduate degree before attending law school, and only admitting to the bar (originally the term for the structure that separated participants from observers in the courtroom) graduates of ABA-approved law schools. America is run by lawyers (subject of this year's Breakneck) and law school fees have skyrocketed; graduating from an elite law school can be a path to great wealth and power. Megalaw firms have merged and grown into nationwide entities. The financial crisis of 2008 saw a decline in law jobs and salaries, but the overall trend is still highly lucrative.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The American legal scholar G. Edward White published American Legal History: A Very Short Introduction in 2014. It is important to note that the book was published before Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), the American Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade (1973) in the United States. White’s information about Roe v. Wade (1973) in the United States is dated (White 92). Also, White’s book was published before McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020), which affects how Native Americans interact with federal and state law (White 14-15). I read the book on the Kindle. The book was still an excellent summary of American Legal History, which can still be helpful and useful today. The first chapter is on the “legal history of American Indian tribes” (White 3-15). The second chapter is on the “law and African American slavery” (White 17-31). The following chapters are on property law, transportation, and media history. Chapter 5 is the history of criminal law. Chapter 6 is the history of family law. Chapter 7 is on the history of tort law. Chapter 8 discusses “legal education and the legal profession” (White 112-126). The book includes illustrations, a section of references, and an index. The book consists of a section entitled “further reading” (White 135-138). White’s book is a good, older introduction to the legal history of the United States.
Works Cited:
Beat, Matthew. 2023, October 13. “Did the United States Give Away Half of Oklahoma? | McGirt v. Oklahoma.” Mr. Beat. YouTube. Video, 7:44 minutes. Did the United States Give Away Half of Oklahoma? | McGirt v. Oklahoma (youtube.com)
Mackler, Jessica. 2024, May 7. “Two years after Roe vs. Wade reversal, Florida is home to restrictive abortion bans | Opinion.” Miami Herald. Florida now has one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans | Miami Herald

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that takes certain themes and examines how they have been a part of American Legal History, including the strong roots in all the themes with British colonisation. I found the first set of chapters very interesting, the last two quite dull, and so it balances out to a moderate rating. The writing is quite dry throughout, but it feels tedious in the last two chapters - the USA is a nation of lawsuits, so I can't be surprised there is basically a chapter on them, but they do not make the most intriguing reading to a lay person.

However, if you are interested in American history, this book focuses on some aspects that are not usually focused on as much - for example, the roots of the nuclear family in changing economic conditions for indentured servants. The legal lens allows for these points, though the legal style is probably what causes the dry prose.

[Audrey Kalman]

Could listen to this kind of audiobook forever.

Lots of interesting parts, particularly about the pre-Civil War US (or maybe more interesting to me because much less familiar...). There was a section about how pre-Separate Spheres/Victorian Womanhood/etc, custody of children was more often given to fathers/men, but then when the idea of women needing to nurture children became such a part of society--SS/VM--then that all changed in the late 18th century

[Teague · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this primer the first week of law school. Cogent, concise, and progressive. This is a brilliant short summary of the 300 years that legalized settler colonialism, chattel slavery, and much more.

[Mariella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these brief intros and this is one of the better ones. Think of it as a Best Of VH1 special on a million different topics.

[Professor Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delivers! An excellent and concise overview of American Law from pre-Colonial Times until today.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seemed to be a good overview from the colonial time to present. Not surprising how dark the history is in terms of how it's been repeatedly used to exploit people and nature.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely clear for the law-naive. I really appreciated the subject-area groupings.

[Christopher Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short introduction to the intricacies of the law in America.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A VERY broad overview of american legal history, but I am a lawyer. The chapters on tort law and domestic relations were the most interesting to me. This would be an excellent introduction to the history of american law for a foreign student or a domestic student totally oblivious to American History, legal or otherwise.

I listened to this on Audible. I would not recommend doing this. I think the strength of this series (Oxford's Very Short Introductions) is in the Bibliography which for obvious reasons was not narrated. I suspect there were also some footnotes that were skipped that might have added depth to the presentation.

Professor White is currently working on a multi-volume history of american law (2 volumes published to date). If the topic interests you, that is where you should go.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two things:

(1) This book is dry and formal to the point of being unreadable.
(2) The structure is thematic, rather than chronological. I did not find this helpful.

Chapter 1: The legal history of Indian tribes
Chapter 2: Law and African American slavery
Chapter 3: Rights of property and their regulation
Chapter 4: Law and entrepreneurship
Chapter 5: Criminal law
Chapter 6: Law and domestic relations
Chapter 7: Civil injuries and the law of torts
Chapter 8: Legal education and the legal profession