Presented by Willard Hurst as part of his course "Introduction to Modern American Legal History" at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1978. Alexis de Tocqueville is discussed in this lecture as Hurst investigates the emphasis American society has placed upon private/unofficial will and democratic liberties. The American farmer and the French peasant are compared for their divergent participation in public affairs. The relations between newly arriving immigrants and the ward boss or political machines are considered as the topic of equality in the legal and social structure is addressed. Attention is also paid to the perceived beneficence of technology, laissez-faire trends up to 1970, and general access to material interests. This discussion narrows in on liberty, equality, political involvement, and material interests. These items are expanded upon through an investigation of Henry Ford's democratization of the automobile in 1905, the cold war and McCarthyism in the 1950's, , and the corrupted meaning of "privacy" in a democratic society. Thoreau's thoughts on the dangers of material standards of living leads to the rights of special interests groups, a public policy linked to freedom of contract, and the possible tyranny of the majority.
