American legal thought has progressed remarkably quickly from premodernism to modernism and into postmodernism in little over 200 years, running from the nation's founding through the 20th century. This book tells the story of this mercurial journey of jurisprudence by showing the development of legal thought through these three intellectual periods. Feldman's narrative revolves around two broad interrelated themes: jurisprudential foundations and the idea of progress. Comprehensive and accessible, the book draws on significant cases from Supreme Court history to provide a handy one-volume...

American legal thought has progressed remarkably quickly from premodernism to modernism and into postmodernism in little over 200 years, running from the nation's founding through the 20th century. This book tells the story of this mercurial journey of jurisprudence by showing the development of legal thought through these three intellectual periods. Feldman's narrative revolves around two broad interrelated themes: jurisprudential foundations and the idea of progress. Comprehensive and accessible, the book draws on significant cases from Supreme Court history to provide a handy one-volume...