Presented by Willard Hurst as part of his course "Introduction to Modern American Legal History" at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1978. An introduction to Modern American Legal History is presented to students as Hurst delineates the key concepts of the course and emphasizes the importance of law-embodied values. He goes on to trace America's legal origins from its seventeenth century English roots, the Greek city-states, and the English parliamentary revolution. The origins of America's legal order are further traced through a detailed examination of Oliver Cromwell's 1647 "Agreement of the People." The emergence of Cromwell's army is explained in relation to rising middle-class values, individualism, and demands for widespread suffrage. Hurst details the impact of these challenges upon England's legal and social order.
