Renowned legal historian Lawrence Friedman presents an accessible and authoritative history of American law from the colonial era to the present day. This fully revised fourth edition incorporates the latest research to bring this classic work into the twenty-first century. In addition to looking closely at timely issues like race relations, the book covers the changing configurations of commercial law, criminal law, family law, and the law of property. Friedman furthermore interrogates the vicissitudes of the legal profession and legal education. The underlying theory of this eminently readable book is that the law is the product of society. In this way, we can view the history of the legal system through a sociological prism as it has evolved over the years.

ProloguePart I: The Beginnings: American Law in the Colonial PeriodPart II: From the Revolution to the Middle of the Nineteenth Century:1776-1850Chapter 1 The Republic of BeesChapter 2 Outposts of the Law: The Frontier and the Civil Law FringeChapter 3 Law and the Economy: 1776-1850Chapter 4 The Law of Personal Status: Wives, Paupers, and SlavesChapter 5 An American Law of PropertyChapter 6 The Law of Commerce and TradeChapter 7 Crime and Punishment: And a Footnote on TortChapter 8 The Bar and Its WorksPart III: American Law to the Close of the Nineteenth CenturyChapter 1 Blood and Gold: Some Main Themes in the Law in the Last Half of the Nineteenth CenturyChapter 2 Judges and Courts: 1850-1900Chapter 3 Procedure and Practice: An Age of ReformChapter 4 The Land and Other PropertyChapter 5 Administrative Law and Regulation of BusinessChapter 6 TortsChapter 7 The Underdogs: 1850-1900Chapter 8 The Law of CorporationsChapter 9 Commerce, Labor, and TaxationChapter 10 Crime and PunishmentChapter 11 The Legal Profession: The Training and Literature of LawChapter 12 The Legal Profession: At WorkPart IV: The Twentieth CenturyChapter 1 Leviathan Comes of AgeChapter 2 The Growth of the LawChapter 3 Internal Legal Culture in the Twentieth Century: Lawyers, Judges, and Law BooksChapter 4 Regulation, Welfare, and the Rise of Environmental LawChapter 5 Crime and Punishment in the Twentieth CenturyChapter 6 Family Law in the Twentieth CenturyEpilogue A Final WordBibliographical EssayIndex