American judges reshaped inherited common law to fit democracy and industrialization

Evidence

U.S. courts have nevertheless modified the body of common law that they received from England in several important respects. In the decades following independence, American judges expunged aspects of the common law that reflected the aristocratic character of English society and were therefore inappropriate for the more democratic society being created in the United States. … During the nineteenth century, American judges also adapted common-law doctrines that originated in an agrarian society to encourage economic development and accommodate industrialization. Finally, although they have generally adhered to precedent, American judges have never viewed precedent as binding to the same extent that their English counterparts have. They therefore have shown greater willingness to overrule earlier decisions and to alter the common law in response to changing circumstances. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 139

Categorization

• XREF: Illustrates how social conditions drive judicial adaptation of doctrine, a core course concern. — connects to: American courts have grown in their role governing the nation. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 90; American courts inherited common-law rulemaking and thus judges make law — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 138; Nineteenth-century judges actively reshaped common law to fit American conditions. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2837 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Nineteenth-century judges actively reshaped common law to fit American conditions. #expands (0.97) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2837
• The common law adapts to social and economic change #corroborates (0.90) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1311
• American judges purged aristocratic features from inherited English common law. #exemplifies (0.88) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 139
• Social and technological change forces courts to extend or revise common-law principles. #expands (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2813
• Courts share an obligation to modernize outdated common-law rules #expands (0.82) — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 2367
• American courts embraced western miners’ customs over English common-law doctrines #exemplifies (0.80) — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 976
• Federal law preserved some civil-law property rights during common-law expansion #complicates (0.74) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 924
• Courts expand constitutional rights by redefining the legal standard they rest on. #complicates (0.71) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2533