Contract Law in America

Contract law as applied in the real world and not just in the law books: a classic study of the social and economic realities of commercial law, told through case studies and rich historical analysis. Comparing contract cases and legislation over three discrete historical periods, Lawrence Friedman showed that social context matters, that law is more flexible and adaptive than traditional doctrinal studies would suggest, and that the framing of contract law can use a fresh reexamination in light of the historical realities he exposes.


A recognized study in law & society, this volume previously hid out as a rare book or was completely unavailable. Now readily accessible worldwide, it also features a new preface by the author as well as a new, analytical foreword by Stewart Macaulay, a senior professor of law at the University of Wisconsin.


As Macaulay notes, Friedman's Contract Law in America "still challenges those who research, write and teach in the field of contracts. His findings and arguments still call for a serious response today." Has contracts doctrine become "the law of leftovers"? In any event, Macaulay sums up, "Friedman combines scholarship that takes him into dusty archives with insight into the broader effect of both public culture and legal culture. I am continually and pleasantly surprised when I read him."


As with all the quality contributions to Quid Pro's Classics of Law & Society Series, this book features modern formatting and presentation, legible tables, linked notes and active TOC, a fully-linked subject Index, and hyperaccurate proofreading from the original text. Moreover, it includes embedded page numbers from the first edition (in both print and digital formats), for continuity of references.


"Contract Law in America is one of the most important works in the entire scholarly literature on American legal history. ... In the methodology that Friedman applied, in the brilliance of the analysis, and in the new light his book cast on the full dimensions of governance and law in the United States, this book broke new ground. It remains today, still, required reading for any student of legal history."

--Harry N. Scheiber

Stefan A. Riesenfeld Professor of Law and History, University of California at Berkeley


"The republishing of Contract Law in America is a very welcome event. For years this has been one of the neglected classics of legal literature. Friedman did what the Legal Realists only dreamed of doingóhe studied in-depth what kinds of contracts cases state courts had decided over time, and found grand patterns in the decisions. ... Friedman's book should finally find the audience it deserves."

--Robert W. Gordon

Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and Legal History, Emeritus, Yale University; Professor of Law, Stanford University


"Contract Law in America remains a classic examination of the relationships among legal doctrine, legal culture, and the shifting frameworks of American business enterprise."

--Edward J. Balleisen

 Associate Professor of History, Duke University