Presented by Willard Hurst as part of his course "Introduction to Modern American Legal History" at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1978. This lecture focuses on the topic of the relation of law to society. Hurst investigates the presence of law in the private market by revisiting the topic of Nicholas Biddle and the second Bank of the United States. This leads into the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913, and non-market justifications for governmental intervention. The case of McCullough v. Maryland, the Farmer's Alliance of the 1880's, and the Agriculture Adjustment act are all used as examples of increased social regulation in the United States. Hurst continues to discuss the increases in social regulation as he moves into the topic of taxation. He emphasizes governmental use of funds for subsidizing intervention, and the government's ability to enter the market. He then shifts the focus to the specific changes that took place at the state and federal level to increase intervention.
