Background

James Willard Hurst was born on October 6, 1910, in Rockford, Illinois, United States. He was a son of James Dominick Hurst and Mabel (Weinert) Hurst.

Education

In 1932, James received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College. He continued his studies at Harvard Law School, graduating with Bachelor of Laws degree in 1935.

Some time later, in 1967, Hurst attained Master of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. In 1974, he obtained his Doctor of Laws degree, graduating from Williams College.

In 1980, Hurst received Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Florida and the following year, in 1981, he obtained the same degree from Ripon College.

Career

James Willard Hurst began his career as a research fellow for Harvard University professor Felix Frankfurter. In 1936, he became a law clerk for the Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Louis Dembitz Brandeis. Between 1943-1946, he served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve.

Hurst devoted nearly forty-five years to teaching at the University of Wisconsin, first as an instructor and ultimately as a Professor of Law. Moreover, between 1967-1968, he was a Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions at the University of Cambridge. In 1981, he became a Professor Emeritus.

Also, while at Wisconsin, James devised a program, that concerned law and society. His other posts included visiting professorships at educational establishments, such as Stanford University, Northwestern University, the University of Utah and others.

During his lifetime, Hurst not only contributed to law reviews and other publications, but also wrote over a dozen books, including ''The Law Makers'', ''Law and the Conditions of Freedom'', ''Law and Social Process in U.S. History'', ''Justice Holmes on Legal History'' and others.

Achievements

• James Willard Hurst was recognized as the father of American legal historians, who had his greatest influence through his writings.
  
  Hurst's first major book was "The Growth of American Law: The Law Makers". His most influential work, "Law and the Conditions of Freedom in the Nineteenth-Century United States", was famous for his thesis, that Americans used law to release the population's creative energies.
  
  Also, the book, usually deemed as his masterwork, is "Law and Economic Growth: A Legal History of the Lumber Industry in Wisconsin, 1836-1915".

Works

More photos

• book

  • Law and Social Process in United States History

    (These lectures constitute a fine contribution from a dist...)

    1960
  • The Growth of American Law: The Law Makers

    (This is the first study, published after World War II and...)

    1950
  • Law and Markets in United States History

    (This is the eminent legal scholar James Willard Hurst's s...)

    1982
  • The Law of Treason in the United States: Collected Essays

    (This collection of six essays provides a definitive analy...)

    1971
  • Law and Social Order in the United States

    (The social history of law in the United States is defined...)

    1977
  • Law and the Conditions of Freedom in the Nineteenth-Century

    (In these essays J. Willard Hurst shows the correlation be...)

    1956
  • Justice Holmes on Legal History 1964
  • Dealing With Statutes 1982
  • Law and Economic Growth: The Legal History of the Lumber Industry in Wisconsin, 1836-1915 1984

Views

James Willard Hurst claimed, that law can not be studied as a system apart from the society, that created it, and emphasized, that the courts are only one – and not necessarily the most important – of the many legal actors and institutions. He rejected the view, that legal doctrine is a self-contained, timeless body of ideas and principles, and the assumption, that the history of law was the history of appellate courts' decisions. Rather, he argued, that law is the product of social, economic and cultural forces. James also argued, that in American history, law has been a creative instrument in the hands not just of judges and lawyers, but of a wide range of citizens.

Membership

James was a member of the following societies: American Philosophical Society, Wisconsin Historical Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Delta Phi and Order of the Coif.

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• "Willard Hurst is renowned in this country and abroad as the founder of the field of legal history.'' — Shirley Abrahamson, the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a former student of Hurst

Connections

James married Frances Wilson on August 20, 1941. Their marriage produced two children — Thomas Robert and Mary Deborah.

Father:

James Dominick Hurst

Mother:

Mabel (Weinert) Hurst

child:

Thomas Robert Hurst

child:

Mary Deborah Hurst

Wife:

Frances Wilson