Presented by Willard Hurst as part of his course "Introduction to Modern American Legal History" at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1978. The precedents set by the establishment of the first national bank are examined, and the roles it played in national economic planning. Hurst ties these topics to the relationship between social peace and an increased material standard of living. He goes to examine how this creates tensions due to individual dependency on the health of the market, and the impersonality of market processes. This lecture begins with a comparison between Jefferson's support of a laissez-faire approach to the market, and his opposition to the Hamiltonian program and special interest lobbies. This debate is examined in relation to the international and domestic politics behind the Louisiana Purchase, and the government's ability to take action on behalf of national interests. The discussion ends with an examination of the Marshall court's use of the contract clause in Fletcher v. Kent, and the Dartmouth College Case.
