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 investigates the structural impact of public policy and legal intervention in society. Hurst begins by emphasizing the increased use of public policy in state governments during the twentieth century. He goes on to examine the priorities, which were set for the use of capital assets, and compares this to the lack of planning in the nineteenth century. He finishes by discussing the trends of scientific knowledge that began during World War II, and role private societies played in stimulating research. Hurst opens this discussion with an examination of the treatment of natural resources in state economic planning. He links this to federal investment in science and technology, and compares twentieth century trends with the market driven advances made in the nineteenth century. He discusses the agricultural revolution of the Midwest, and the destruction of lumber lands in Wisconsin. He closes by investigating the pressures law has exerted on scientific and technological innovation, and the bias exhibited towards technology.
