Sep 1, 2025
In this episode we will examine in some detail, important and transformative federal legislation passed during the second session of the 37th Congress (1861-62), including the Homestead Act, Morrill Act, Legal Tender Act and the Pacific Railroad Act. I will offer an introduction to the Civil War Amendments, the 13th,...
Jun 29, 2025
In this second episode on the monumental impact of the Civil War on law and society, first we will talk some straight up history on why the war proved to be such a prolonged and terrible struggle. Next we will take on the weighty topic of Abraham Lincoln and the Constitution, specifically relating to the right of...
Apr 28, 2025
In this the first of several episodes on the Civil War era and the Constitution, we will exam the root causes of the Civil War, the institution of slavery, and the factors that contributed to its longevity in America for 250 years. Also the provisions in the Constitution that addressed slavery, and the important...
Mar 17, 2025
In this final episode we will we look how attitudes and procedures concerning capital crimes evolved, both in England and America. We will also examine the history of confinement in the United States, with a special emphasis on the prison reform movement of the nineteenth century. Lastly, we will discuss criminal law...
Jan 31, 2025
This is the second of three episodes on the history of criminal law and procedure in the United States. In this episode we will examine: the history of law enforcement, and specifically unformed police; the vigilante movement, and forms of criminal punishment in early colonial...