The Spirit of American Law Contributor(s): Grossman, George S. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0813367824 ISBN-13: 9780813367828 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $56.00 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2000 Annotation: This collection of readings is intended as a broad introduction to the roots, practice, and future of law in America. Compiled from the recommended reading lists for first-year students from over eighty law schools, the selections in this anthology were chosen to explore broad subjects rather than specific niches of law. The readings have been selected largely from books with appeal to the general public; only the concluding section contains articles from legal periodicals. Professor Grossman has chosen readings that illustrate the defining characteristics of America's legal profession, the philosophical issues that underlie the day-to-day practice of law, and the social consequences of sometimes abstract legal decisions. The organization is largely chronological -- thirty-three readings divided into sections on the roots, growth, and future of an American institution. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Law | Legal Profession - Political Science | Law Enforcement |
Dewey: 349.73 |
LCCN: 99-48660 |
Lexile Measure: 1370 |
Physical Information: 1.07" H x 5.88" W x 8.91" (1.59 lbs) 578 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Intended for the general public, the readings in this collection explore the roots of American law from pre-history to ancient Greece and Rome and the common law of England. America's legal development is traced from the drafting of the Constitution to the Rehnquist Court. Themes along the way include the ?Golden Age? of the early nineteenth century, when American law took on its distinctive character, the impact of slavery and the Civil War, and the struggles of the Progressives to regulate the nation's industrialized economy between the post-Civil War era and the New Deal. A reading on the Nuremberg Trials introduces the theme of international human rights, while post-war readings trace the nation's legal confrontations over civil liberties, civil rights, the rights of women, the protection of the environment, and legal protections for those accused of crimes. Dramatic highlights include the Sacco-Vanzetti case, the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War, the trial of the ?Chicago Eight? during the Vietnam War, and the Watergate scandal. Leading personalities include Sirs Edward Coke and William Blackstone in England, Chief Justices John Marshall and Earl Warren, Justices Stephen J. Field, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Louis D. Brandeis, and Felix Frankfurter, and Judge Learned Hand. Readings on the future of American law explore the impact of alternative dispute resolution, science and technology, globalization, and space exploration, as well as trends in the legal profession and in legal philosophy. |