On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century
Harvard Law School is the oldest and, arguably, the most influential law school in the nation. U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices, and foreign heads of state, along with senators, congressional representatives, social critics, civil rights activists, university presidents, state and federal judges, military generals, novelists, spies, Olympians, film and TV producers, CEOs, and one First Lady have graduated from the school since its founding in 1817.

During its first century, Harvard Law School pioneered revolutionary educational ideas, including professional legal education within a university, Socratic questioning and case analysis, and the admission and training of students based on academic merit. But the school struggled to navigate its way through the many political, social, economic, and legal crises of the century, and it earned both scars and plaudits as a result. On the Battlefield of Merit offers a candid, critical, definitive account of a unique legal institution during its first century of influence.

Daniel R. Coquillette and Bruce A. Kimball examine the school’s ties with institutional slavery, its buffeting between Federalists and Republicans, its deep involvement in the Civil War, its reluctance to admit minorities and women, its anti-Catholicism, and its financial missteps at the turn of the twentieth century. On the Battlefield of Merit brings the story of Harvard Law School up to 1909—a time when hard-earned accomplishment led to self-satisfaction and vulnerabilities that would ultimately challenge its position as the leading law school in the nation. A second volume will continue this history through the twentieth century.

1121714063
On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century
Harvard Law School is the oldest and, arguably, the most influential law school in the nation. U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices, and foreign heads of state, along with senators, congressional representatives, social critics, civil rights activists, university presidents, state and federal judges, military generals, novelists, spies, Olympians, film and TV producers, CEOs, and one First Lady have graduated from the school since its founding in 1817.

During its first century, Harvard Law School pioneered revolutionary educational ideas, including professional legal education within a university, Socratic questioning and case analysis, and the admission and training of students based on academic merit. But the school struggled to navigate its way through the many political, social, economic, and legal crises of the century, and it earned both scars and plaudits as a result. On the Battlefield of Merit offers a candid, critical, definitive account of a unique legal institution during its first century of influence.

Daniel R. Coquillette and Bruce A. Kimball examine the school’s ties with institutional slavery, its buffeting between Federalists and Republicans, its deep involvement in the Civil War, its reluctance to admit minorities and women, its anti-Catholicism, and its financial missteps at the turn of the twentieth century. On the Battlefield of Merit brings the story of Harvard Law School up to 1909—a time when hard-earned accomplishment led to self-satisfaction and vulnerabilities that would ultimately challenge its position as the leading law school in the nation. A second volume will continue this history through the twentieth century.

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On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century

On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century

On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century

On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century

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Overview

Harvard Law School is the oldest and, arguably, the most influential law school in the nation. U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices, and foreign heads of state, along with senators, congressional representatives, social critics, civil rights activists, university presidents, state and federal judges, military generals, novelists, spies, Olympians, film and TV producers, CEOs, and one First Lady have graduated from the school since its founding in 1817.

During its first century, Harvard Law School pioneered revolutionary educational ideas, including professional legal education within a university, Socratic questioning and case analysis, and the admission and training of students based on academic merit. But the school struggled to navigate its way through the many political, social, economic, and legal crises of the century, and it earned both scars and plaudits as a result. On the Battlefield of Merit offers a candid, critical, definitive account of a unique legal institution during its first century of influence.

Daniel R. Coquillette and Bruce A. Kimball examine the school’s ties with institutional slavery, its buffeting between Federalists and Republicans, its deep involvement in the Civil War, its reluctance to admit minorities and women, its anti-Catholicism, and its financial missteps at the turn of the twentieth century. On the Battlefield of Merit brings the story of Harvard Law School up to 1909—a time when hard-earned accomplishment led to self-satisfaction and vulnerabilities that would ultimately challenge its position as the leading law school in the nation. A second volume will continue this history through the twentieth century.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780674967663
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Publication date: 10/23/2015
Pages: 688
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Daniel R. Coquillette is J. Donald Monan, S.J., University Professor at Boston College and Charles Warren Visiting Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. He is coauthor, with Bruce A. Kimball, of the prizewinning On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century.

Bruce A. Kimball is Professor in Philosophy and History of Education at Ohio State University and a former Guggenheim Fellow. He is coauthor, with Daniel R. Coquillete, of the prizewinning On the Battlefield of Merit: Harvard Law School, the First Century.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

1 The English and Continental Roots of American Legal Education 20

2 American Antecedents of Harvard Law School 49

3 Founding a University Professional School of Law 75

4 The School Saved 131

5 Joseph Story's Law School in the Young Republic 157

6 The Greenleaf Transition 189

7 The Gathering Storm 210

8 Civil War and Aftermath 259

9 Dean Langdell, First Casebooks, and Justice Holmes 304

10 Curricular and Pedagogical Revolution 344

11 Creating the "New System" of Legal Education 384

12 The Paths of Four Students 436

13 The "New System," Triumphant and Invidious 470

14 Students of Color at Harvard Law School 521

15 "'Beloved Dean Ames" 556

Conclusion 607

Appendixes

A Enrollment and Number of LL.B.s Awarded, 1817-1910 613

B Number of LL.B.s Awarded, 1820-1910 617

C Documents Establishing the Royall Professorship, Harvard Law School, and Dane Professorship 618

D Professorial Appointments, 1815-1910 624

E Annual Expenses, Endowment, and Cash Reserve, 1830-1909 629

F Largest Endowments of American Universities, 1875-1930 632

G Student Research Papers Addressing the Period 1817-1910 634

Acknowledgments 637

Index 639

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