American Legal History 1776-1865

This course will trace the development of the American legal and political system from 1776 to 1865. We will discuss the formation of state constitutions and the Federal Constitution , slavery and law, the development of American private law, the “Revolution of 1800” and the “Age of Jefferson” , the mechanisms of westward expansion, the “Age of Jackson, and the coming of the Civil War.

Note: This course is jointly-listed with FAS as History 1405.