The American Legal History Podcast

In this, the first of two episodes, we will talk to Professor Dylan C. Penningroth, author of Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights. In this groundbreaking work, Professor Pennigroth explains how former slaves gained the right to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, and hold and convey real property. Using wha...

In this concluding episode on the Civil War and the Constitution we will dicuss the 15th Amendment and the end of Reconstruction. We will examine the many factors that made the crafting of the 15th so difficult, the ratification process, and the efforts to undermine its effectivneess. We will also look at the reasons and circumstances that led to the end of Reconstrution in 1877, and how it has be...

In this episode we will talk about the Civil Rights Act of 1866, but primarily we will dicuss the most impactful of the Constitution's Amendments, the Fourteenth. Specifically, the circumstances in the post-war south that compelled its creation, the role it played in Reconstruction, the men who drafted it, the many purposes it was meant to serve, the enacting statutes, and its early interpretation...

In this episode we will examine in some detail, important and transformative federal legislation passed during the second session of the 37th Congress (1861-62), including the Homestead Act, Morrill Act, Legal Tender Act and the Pacific Railroad Act. I will offer an introduction to the Civil War Amendments, the 13th, 14th, and 15th. We will end with thorough examination of the history and wording...

In this second episode on the monumental impact of the Civil War on law and society, first we will talk some straight up history on why the war proved to be such a prolonged and terrible struggle. Next we will take on the weighty topic of Abraham Lincoln and the Constitution, specifically relating to the right of state secession, the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, and the Emancipation Pr...

In this the first of several episodes on the Civil War era and the Constitution, we will exam the root causes of the Civil War, the institution of slavery, and the factors that contributed to its longevity in America for 250 years. Also the provisions in the Constitution that addressed slavery, and the important state and federal laws that sustained it. We will also look at important pre-war legis...

In this final episode we will we look how attitudes and procedures concerning capital crimes evolved, both in England and America. We will also examine the history of confinement in the United States, with a special emphasis on the prison reform movement of the nineteenth century. Lastly, we will discuss criminal law and procedure roughly from the end of WWII to the present day.

This is the second of three episodes on the history of criminal law and procedure in the United States. In this episode we will examine: the history of law enforcement, and specifically unformed police; the vigilante movement, and forms of criminal punishment in early colonial America.

This is the first of two episodes on the history of criminal law and procedure in the United States. In this first installment we will examine some basic definitions of crime, common law crimes, the evolution of the federal government's role in terms of landmark legislation and enforcement, the pivotal rule that the states play in criminal law, and the codification of criminal law.

In this episode we will discuss legal education and the legal profession between the Revolution and the Civil War. In this period the profession matured and truly came into its own. It was a time of tremendous growth in the profession when lawyers exercised ever increasing influence over the political and economic life of the nation. During this time the principle method of educating lawyers was t...

In episode twenty-six we will continue our discussion with Professor Professor Vernon Burton and Civil Rights attorney Armand Derfner, on their brilliant book, Race and the Supreme Court. We will examine the slow evolution of the US Supreme Court on issues of social justice in the mid-20th century, culminating with it's full-throated support in the 1950's and 60's. This was followed by a steady de...

Today we have two very special guests, Professor Orville Vernon Burton and Professor Armand Derfner. Their book Justice Deferred: Race and the Supreme Court, is the first that comprehensively charts the Court's race jurisprudence. Addressing nearly two hundred cases involving America's racial minorities, they explore the parties involved, the justices' reasoning, and the impact of individual rulin...

In this episode we will explore American law between the Revolution and the Civil War. Sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of American Law, it featured some of the most celebrated lawyers and judges in our history. We will also take a close look at the development of the common law of contracts and torts. I will tell you about John Marshall's successor as Chief Justice of the United States Sup...

During the course of the long nineteenth century, a great debate took place between those who wanted to base the law of the United States in common law, and those who wanted it based in codified law. The proponents of the movement had three goals, which can be characterized as procedural, jurisdictional, and aspirational. The movement achieved considerable success with the first two and was at lea...

In episode twenty-two, we will continue our examination of the early Supreme Court and the staggering impact of Chief Justice John Marshall on the Constitutional development of the early Republic. Most of the cases discussed in the episode were decided between 1810 – 1823, the most productive period in Supreme Court history, during this time Marshall and his fellow justices, were at the height of...

In episode twenty-one we will discuss the early years of the United States Supreme Court and the most influential Chief Justice in its history, John Marshall. We will examine in detail what is considered the most famous case in American legal history, Marbury v. Madison (1803). We will also explore the origins of judicial review, the power of the court to determine if a statute, case, or treaty co...

In Episode twenty, we will take a close look at the creation and substance of the first ten Amendments of the Constitution of the United States; The Bill of Rights. We will also discuss the three distinct eras of Constitutional growth and the strange story of the twenty-seventh Amendment.

In episode nineteen, we will examine the fight and the procedures utilized for the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. Often treated by historians as little more than a postscript in the process, it did in fact represent, in itself, a great epoch in American political thought and development. The debate and votes which lasted a bit less than a year were thorough, egalitarian, pa...

In episode eighteen, we will deal with what would prove to be the most contentious issue of the summer proportional representation, discuss some the lessor known contributors to the final form of the Constitution, we will also examine the work of the so called "Committee of Detail" a little discussed but an incredibly influential body on the final form of the Constitution and last the election and...

In episode seventeen we will continue with our fascinating discussion on Federal Indian Law with one of the most distinguished scholars in the field Professor Matthew L.M. Fletcher. In this wide-ranging interview examining Federal Indian Law from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day, we will cover the 1846 case of United States v. Rogers, the Treaty Era, the Removal Era, the Allotment Era...

In Episode 16 we are going to take a break from our linear march through American Legal History to present an interview with Professor Matthew Fletcher. He is in short, the most important legal scholar in the discipline of Federal Indian Law in the United States. Matthew L.M. Fletcher is the Foundation Professor of Law at Michigan State University College of Law and Director of the Indigenous Law...

This is the third of several episodes on the creation, ratification, and implementation of the Constitution of the United States. In this episode we will examine the opening stages of the Constitutional Convention. We will look at James Madison's long preparation process, the venue in which the deliberations took place, and the nature and character of the 55 delegates. Lastly, we will examine the...

This is the second of several episodes on the creation, ratification, and implementation of the Constitution of the United States. We will discuss the many factors that led to the decision of 12 of the 13 states' to send delegates to Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. These factors include: the many security threats facing the young republic, the dismal financial state of the Confederation, dispu...

This is the first of several episodes on the Constitution of the United States. We will examine the many factors that immerged in the 1780s that led to the calling of the Constitutional Convention. We will also look at the incredible story of the Convention itself, the fascinating personalities and behind the scenes deals that made the document possible. In the episode we will examine the Articles...

In episode twelve we will discuss the end of the so called "quiet period" with the passage of the Tea Act in 1773. The Boston Tea Party and Parliamentary reaction; the First and Second Continental Congress and efforts at reconciliation. We will examine the impact to Tom Paine's earth-shaking pamphlet Common Sense. The drafting, editing, and political theory underpinning the Declaration of Independ...