At the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States was reeling from the effects of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Time-honored verities proved obsolete, and intellectuals in all fields sought ways to make sense of an increasingly unfamiliar reality. The legal system began to buckle under the weight of its anachronism. In the midst of this crisis, John Henry Wigmore, dean of the Northwestern University School of Law, single-handedly modernized the jury trial with his 1904-5 Treatise on the Anglo-American System of Evidence in Trials at Common Law. He inspired generations of progressive jurists-among them Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Benjamin Cardozo, and Felix Frankfurter-to reshape American law to meet the demands of a new era. Yet Wigmore's role as a prophet of modernity has slipped into obscurity. This book provides a radical reappraisal of his place in the birth of modern legal thought.

About the Author
Andrew Porwancher is assistant profes- sor of classics and letters at the University of Oklahoma and lives in Norman, OK USA.


Book Information
ISBN 9780826220868
Author Andrew Porwancher
Format Hardback
Page Count 243
Imprint University of Missouri Press
Publisher University of Missouri Press
Weight(grams) 508g