Fall 2009 American Legal
History Exam questions. See
instructions.
- Consider
American family law. Has law facilitated or hindered change in
the relationships among family members?
- Are
there significant legal themes that developed during the 17th
century and remained as part of a distinctive American legal
identity?
- Compare
and contrast the across-the-stump legal examination in John Dean
Caton’s Bench and Bar with the methods used to gain entrance to
the legal profession in the late 19th century. If
you would like, you may include a small analysis of your own
experience with law school and the legal profession in the early
21st century.
- Why did
the American legal profession and American business accept
Langdell’s innovations? Would his methods have been equally
successful in 1840? What about in 1790?
-
Americans love success stories but grow to disdain phenomenal
success. This pattern seems especially true with large, very
successful businesses but may also exist in other realms. What
elements of American legal history contribute to or support
Americans’ love/hate relationship with success.
- How has
the idea of the state—meaning, loosely, the government and its
parts—changed through the course of American legal history from
the early 17th century through the first part of the
20th century?
- How did the
law's expression of moral or ethical authority change from the
17th century through the end of the 19th century?
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