Law in America Book

A Study Of The Nature Of American Law

Professor Lawrence Friedman's book is subtitled "A Short History" of American Law. The book does indeed take a historical approach, but its subject is more the nature of American law than its detailed history. Professor Friedman describes how our law has become what it is and the sources of change in the law.

The theme of his book is that law follows social and economic changes. It responds to the needs that people in society assert. At the beginning of the 21st Century, we live in a large, pluralistic, technologically complex, impersonal and interdependent country. We are all dependent upon the actions of other people whom we don't know and don't control to meet even the most basic needs of our daily lives. The growing complexity and bulk of our laws, in economic relations, family law, criminal law and much else changes in response to social needs and mores. In addition, there has been a move towards centralization -- for people to look to the Federal government as a source of law and as an aggressive participant in social change and in the satisfaction of needs.

Given his basic claim that law follows society, Professor Friedman provides a short, useful, overview of law in the colonial period pointing out how societies were smaller, more homogeneous in terms of culture and religion and more able to use more intimate, so to speak, forms of social control than those available to the current administrative state. He follows this with a good discussion of law and economics which suggests how and why the focus of tort law has changed from protecting growing business to protecting workers. A section on family law explores the effect of changing sexual mores, among other matters, on the nature of law. There is a discussion of the changing nature of race relations and of the role of the modern large welfare state.

The book is clearly written. It is thoughtful and provocative in that Professor Friedman sets out a thesis and proceeds to expound and defend it in his exposition of American law. His book is not and does not purport to be a full, complete treatment of American legal history. It is possible too that the nature of legal change and the interrelationship between law and social change is more complex and multi-layered than the book takes it to be. This book is a short, good introduction to American law which should stimulate the reader in his or her own thinking.

Robin Friedman