State and National Law School was an early practical training law school founded in 1849 by John W. Fowler in Ballston Spa, New York

Ballston Spa, New York

Ballston Spa is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,556 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Saratoga County. The village is named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler. The village lies on the border of two...

 located in Saratoga County. It was also known as New York State and National Law School, Ballston Law School, and Fowler's State and National Law School. In 1853 the school relocated to Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, New York

Dutchess County, New York

Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...

. The school closed its doors sometime in the 1860s.

History

Founded in 1849, by John W. Fowler, the school was one of the first in the country to provide practical training for law students. The school was established in the old Sans Souci hotel in Ballston Spa and only stayed in the facility for three years.

The school was under supervision of a Board of Trustees appointed by the legislature of the State of New York.

"The National Law School used very advanced teaching methods for its time. "There, students were assembled into mock courtroom scenarios, playing all of the roles witnesses, bailiffs, jurors, and attorneys. The professors were the judges, and the teams of attorneys were given a set of facts to work with to build their case."

In 1849 the law school briefly hosted the Beta Proteron Charge of Theta Delta Chi

Theta Delta Chi

Theta Delta Chi is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Theta Delt, Thete, TDX, and TDC. Theta Delta Chi brothers refer to their local organization as Charges rather...

 Fraternity.

The institution struggled financially and also encountered problems with its facilities in Ballston Spa. President Fowler made the decision to relocate the law school to Poughkeepsie in late 1852.

In January 1853 the school opened for its first term in Poughkeepsie. The reasons given for the move as stated by the trustees; the building in Ballston is old and the rooms are cold, while in Poughkeepsie our accommodations are comfortable and pleasant. The village to which we have removed is much larger and more pleasant than Ballston, containing six or eight flourishing Literary Institutions, of which four are Female Seminaries. The people of Poughkeepsie furnish, besides these Libraries, adequate funds to place the institution on a high and permanent basis."

Degrees granted

The board was authorized to confer upon each graduate the degree of LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws).

Notable alumni

For its short tenure, the law school produced many prominent alumni:

• Chester Arthur, 1854, President of the United States
  President of the United States
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• Sullivan Ballou
  Sullivan Ballou
  Sullivan Ballou was a lawyer, politician, and major in the United States Army. He is best remembered for the eloquent letter he wrote to his wife a week before he fought and was mortally wounded alongside his Rhode Island Volunteers in the First Battle of Bull Run.-Early life:Ballou was born the...
  
  , Union officer featured in Ken Burns' "The Civil War"
• Angus Cameron
  Angus Cameron
  Angus Cameron was a Republican and a member of the United States Senate from Wisconsin from 1875 to 1881, when he did not seek reelection, and again from 1881 to 1885, when he was elected to succeed Matthew H. Carpenter, who died in office; he did not seek reelection in 1885...
  
  , 1853, United States Senator from Wisconsin
• Ralph Hill
  Ralph Hill (representative)
  Ralph Hill was a United States Representative from Indiana.He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio where he attended the district school. He also attended the Kinsman Academy and the Grand River Institute, Austinburg, Ohio...
  
  , 1851, United States Representative from Indiana
• Tim N. Machin
  Tim N. Machin
  Timothy N. Machin was the tenth Lieutenant Governor of California from 1863 to 1867. He previously served in the California State Assembly, representing Tuolumne and Mono counties for two terms in 1862 and 1863....
  
  , 1849, Lieutenant Governor of California
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• Samuel D. McEnery
  Samuel D. McEnery
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  , 1859, United States Senator/Governor of Louisiana
• John Franklin Miller (senator), 1852, United States Senator from California
• Henry Wilbur Palmer
  Henry Wilbur Palmer
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  , 1860, United States Representative from Pennsylvania
• Niles Searls
  Niles Searls
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  , 1849, Chief Justice
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   of California Supreme Court
• Lionel Allen Sheldon
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  Lionel Allen Sheldon was a U.S. Representative from Louisiana. He was Governor of New Mexico Territory from 1881 to 1885.-Early life:Born in Worcester, New York, Sheldon moved with his parents to Lagrange, Ohio...
  
  , 1853, United States Representative from Louisiana
• Julius L. Strong
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  Julius Levi Strong was a U.S. Representative from Connecticut.Strong was born in Bolton, Connecticut. He attended Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, and Union College, Schenectady, New York. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1852. He served in the State senate...
  
  , 1853, United States Representative from Connecticut
• Ormsby B. Thomas
  Ormsby B. Thomas
  Ormsby Brunson Thomas was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.-Early life:Thomas was born in Sandgate, Vermont, and he moved with his parents to Wisconsin in 1836. He attended the common schools and Burr Seminary, Manchester, Vermont. He was graduated from the State and National Law School in...
  
  , 1856, United States Representative from Wisconsin
• Henry D. Washburn
  Henry D. Washburn
  Henry Dana Washburn was a U.S. Representative from Indiana and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
  
  , 1853, United States Representative from Indiana
• William Brewster Williams, 1851, United States Representative from Michigan