Bar openness coexisted with class stratification even in the nineteenth century
Evidence
The bar was open to almost all men, in a technical sense. But class and background did make a difference. Jacksonian ideology should not be taken at face value. The bar was, for one thing, somewhat stratified, even in the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the twenty-first century there is a tremendous social distance between a Wall Street partner on the one hand, and on the other hand, lawyers who scramble for a living at the bottom of the heap. Lawyers from wealthy or professional backgrounds are far more likely to reach the heights than lawyers from working-class homes. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1821
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: The early nineteenth-century bar had low entry barriers and embraced all work — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 1223; The class system coexisted with political equality and blocked republics; Hegemony explains class rule as cultural and political sway, not just economic interest (+1 more)