James Willard Hurst
Encyclopedia
James Willard Hurst is widely credited as the founder of the modern field of American
legal history
. Educated at the Harvard Law School
, from which he graduated in 1935, Hurst was a research assistant to Professor Felix Frankfurter
, and later a law clerk
to Justice Louis D. Brandeis. Hurst spent the lion's share of his professional career as a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School
in Madison, Wisconsin
. He was Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions
at the University of Cambridge
in 1967.
Hurst had his greatest influence through his writings. His first major book, The Growth of American Law: The Law Makers (Little, Brown, 1950), examined the various institutions and groups that made law in America from independence through the mid-twentieth century—legislatures, the courts, the executive, the bar, and administrative agencies. His most influential work, Law and the Condititons of Freedom in the Nineteenth-Century United States (University of Wisconsin Press
, 1956), was famous for his thesis that Americans used law to release the population's creative energies. The book usually deemed his masterwork is Law and Economic Growth: A Legal History of the Lumber Industry in Wisconsin, 1836-1915 (Harvard University Press, 1964; reissued with new introduction, University of Wisconsin Press, 1984).
Hurst's other books include Justice Holmes and Legal History (Macmillan, 1965), Law and Social Process in the United States (University of Michigan Press, 1960), Law and Social Order in the United States (Cornell University Press, 1977), A Legal History of Money in the United States 1774-1970 (University of Nebraska Press, 1971), The Legitimacy of the Business Corporation in the Law of the United States (University of Virginia Press, 1970), Dealing with Statutes (Columbia University Press, 1982), and Law and Markets in United States History: Different Modes of Bargaining Among Interests (University of Wisconsin Press, 1982). In 1971 he collected a series of influential law-review articles from the 1940s under the title The Law of Treason in the United States (Greenwood Press, 1971).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
legal history
Legal history
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history...
. Educated at the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, from which he graduated in 1935, Hurst was a research assistant to Professor Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Early life:Frankfurter was born into a Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna, Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe. He was the third of six children of Leopold and Emma Frankfurter...
, and later a law clerk
Law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...
to Justice Louis D. Brandeis. Hurst spent the lion's share of his professional career as a professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School
University of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional school for the study of law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The law school was founded in 1868.-Facilities:...
in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. He was Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions
Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions
The Pitt Professorship of American History and Institutions was established on 5 February 1944 from a sum of £44,000 received from the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press in 1943 and augmented by a further £5,000 in 1946...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1967.
Hurst had his greatest influence through his writings. His first major book, The Growth of American Law: The Law Makers (Little, Brown, 1950), examined the various institutions and groups that made law in America from independence through the mid-twentieth century—legislatures, the courts, the executive, the bar, and administrative agencies. His most influential work, Law and the Condititons of Freedom in the Nineteenth-Century United States (University of Wisconsin Press
University of Wisconsin Press
The University of Wisconsin Press is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It primarily publishes work by scholars from the global academic community but also serves the citizens of Wisconsin by publishing important books about Wisconsin, the Upper Midwest, and...
, 1956), was famous for his thesis that Americans used law to release the population's creative energies. The book usually deemed his masterwork is Law and Economic Growth: A Legal History of the Lumber Industry in Wisconsin, 1836-1915 (Harvard University Press, 1964; reissued with new introduction, University of Wisconsin Press, 1984).
Hurst's other books include Justice Holmes and Legal History (Macmillan, 1965), Law and Social Process in the United States (University of Michigan Press, 1960), Law and Social Order in the United States (Cornell University Press, 1977), A Legal History of Money in the United States 1774-1970 (University of Nebraska Press, 1971), The Legitimacy of the Business Corporation in the Law of the United States (University of Virginia Press, 1970), Dealing with Statutes (Columbia University Press, 1982), and Law and Markets in United States History: Different Modes of Bargaining Among Interests (University of Wisconsin Press, 1982). In 1971 he collected a series of influential law-review articles from the 1940s under the title The Law of Treason in the United States (Greenwood Press, 1971).
External links
- Works about J. Willard Hurst, University of Wisconsin Law School, Institute for Legal Studies.