Continental imports: The influence of European law and jurisprudence in the United States

Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis

Volumn 64, Issue 3-4, 1996, Pages 391-410

  Reimann, Mathias ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 66149169767     PISSN: 00407585     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1163/157181996X00102     Document Type: Article

References (96)

1. See: G. Gilmore, The Ages of American Law, New Haven and London 1977, p. 19-40;
2. K.L. Hall, The Magic Mirror, New York and Oxford 1989, p. 49-128;
3. L.M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2d ed. New York 1985, p. 105-333.
4. Even in the colonies, however, the civil law played a considerable role, see M. Radin, The Rivalry of Common Law and Civil Law Ideals in the American Colonies, in 2 Law - A Century of Progress, London 1937, p. 404-431.
5. See: W.E. Nelson, The Americanization of the Common Law, Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1975.
6. See: F.R. Aumann, The Influence of English and Civil Law Principles upon the American Legal System During the Critical Post-Revolutionary Period, in: University of Cincinnati Law Review, 12 (1938), 289;
7. R.H. Helmholz, Use of Civil Law in Post-Revolutionary American Jurisprudence, in: Tulane Law Review, 66 (1992), 1649;
8. P. Stein, The Attraction of the Civil Law in Post-Revolutionary America, in: Virginia Law Review, 52 (1966), 403.
9. The most widely read German author was probably Pufendorf, but even his influence was rather limited, see: A. Augat, Die Aufnahme der Lehren Samuel von Pufendorfs in das Recht der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, diss. Kiel 1985.
10. See H.S. Legaré, Writings of Hugh Swinton Legaré, vol. II, Charleston and New York, 1845, p. 110.
11. See M. Hale, The Analysis of Law, London 1713.
12. See T. Wood, An Institute of the Laws of England or the Laws of England in their Natural Order, London 1720.
13. W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 4 vols., Oxford 1765-1769.
14. and R.H. Helmholz, Continental Law and Common Law: Historical Strangers or Companions, in: Duke Law Journal, 1990 (1990), 1207, at p. 1224-1226.
15. There was also a distinct circle of Roman law scholars in the antebellum South, see: M.H. Hoeflich, Roman and Civil Law in the Anglo-American World Before 1850: Lieber, Legaré, and Walker, Roman Lawyers of the Old South, in M. Reimann (ed.), The Reception of Continental Ideas in the Common Law World 1820-1920, Berlin 1993, p. 19-43;
16. see also: M.H. Hoeflich, Roman Law in American Legal Culture, in: Tulane Law Review, 66 (1992), 1723.
17. See e.g. J. Story, Commentaries on the Law of Bills of Exchange, Boston 1843, p. 6 ff.;
18. J. Kent, Commentaries on American Law, vol. 1, New York 1826, p. 507;
19. C. Cushing, On the Study of the Civil Law, in: North American Law Review, 11 (1820), 407.
20. A. Watson, Chancellor Kent's Use of Foreign Law, in M. Reimann (ed.), The Reception of Continental Ideas in the Common Law World 1820-1920, Berlin 1993, p. 45-62.
21. As Kent himself admitted, knowing European law gave him an 'immense advantage' over his less erudite colleagues because they could simply not argue with him on certain points; W. Kent, Memoirs and Letters of James Kent, Boston 1898, at. p. 117.
22. I have studied the relationship between German legal science and Anglo-American legal thought during that period in greater depth in M. Reimann, Historische Schule und Common Law, Berlin 1993;
23. see also: M.H. Hoeflich, Savigny and His Anglo-American Disciples, in: American Journal of Comparative Law, 37 (1989), 17.
24. See J. Austin, The Province of Jurisprudence Determined, 3 vols., 2d ed. London 1861.
25. O.W. Holmes, The Common Law, Boston 1881, p. 5.
26. For further explanation, see M. Reimann, Nineteenth Century German Legal Science, in: Boston Coll. L. Rev., 31 (1990), 837.
27. See M. Reimann, A Career in Itself, The German Professoriate as a Model for American Legal Academia, in M. Reimann (ed.), The Reception of Continental Ideas in the Common Law World 1820-1920, Berlin 1993, 165.
28. See J.E. Herget, American Jurisprudence 1870-1970, Houston 1990, p. 147-227;
29. There has been much speculation about whether Holmes himself was influenced by early continental sociological views of law, especially by Jhering. Although Holmes clearly knew of Jhering's work, such influence is unlikely, at least in the form of direct reception, because Holmes had developed his own basic convictions before he learned of Jhering's kindred ideas, see M. Reimann, Holmes' Common Law and German Legal Science, in R. Gordon (ed.), The Legacy of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Stanford (Calif.) 1992, 72, at p. 102.
30. See generally, M.G. White, Social Thought in America, The Revolt Against Formalism, New York 1949.
31. See, generally, J.E. Herget, The German Free Law Movement as the Source of American Legal Realism, in: Virginia Law Review, 73 (1987), 399;
32. J.E. Herget, The Influence of German Thought on American Jurisprudence, 1880-1918, in M. Reimann (ed.), The Reception of Continental Ideas in the Common Law World 1820-1920, Berlin 1993, 203.
33. Excerpts from the important texts of the free school of law were translated and published by the Association of American Law Schools as The Science of Legal Method, E. Bruncken and L.B. Register transl., Boston 1917.
34. Jhering's Kampf ums Recht (1872) was translated as R. v. Jhering, The Struggle for Law. J.J. Lalor transl. Chicago 1879,
35. and Jhering's Der Zweck im Recht (2 vols., 1877-1883)
36. was published as R. v. Jhering, Law as a Means to an End, Husik transl. Boston 1913.
37. See particularly R. Pound, The Scope and Purpose of Sociological Jurisprudence, 3 parts, in: Harvard Law Review 24, 591; 25, 140; 25, 489 (1911/1912).
38. His fifteen articles published between 1904 and 1917 contain a total of almost 500 citations to 132 German authors, J.E. Herget, The Influence of German Thought on American Jurisprudence, 1880-1918, supra note 33, at p. 227.
39. Gray, one of the predecessors of legal realism, was soundly familiar with German jurisprudence and cited not only works of the classical period but also Jhering and free school of law thinkers like Bülow and Zitelmann, see J.C. Gray, The Nature and Sources of Law, New York 1909.
40. Karl Llewellyn had been a high school student in Germany for several years before the war and was twice a visiting professor in Germany, see: W. Twining, Karl Llewellyn and the Realist Movement, Norman (Okl.) 1985, p. 87-110.
41. Llewellyn was notoriously reluctant to acknowledge the continental origin of many of his ideas, because he proclaimed to believe that, at least in the 1930s and 1940s, Americans were simply too hostile to foreign legal theory, see S. Riesenfeld, The Impact of German Legal Ideas and Institutions on Legal Thought and Institutions in the United States, in M. Reimann (ed.), supra note 33, 89, at p. 96.
42. see J. Frank, Law and the Modem Mind, Gloucester (Mass.) 1970, orig. 1930, at p. 11, 247, 354 n. 8.
43. The connection between Frank and Wurzel was first noted by J.E. Herget, The German Free Law Movement as the Source of American Legal Realism, supra note 33, at p. 431 n. 142.
44. See the impressive synopsis of excerpts from key texts provided as a 'Comparative Appendix' by J.E. Herget, The German Free Law Movement as the Source of American Legal Realism, supra note 33, at p. 440-452.
45. On Cardozo, see R.A. Posner, Cardozo, A Study in Reputation, Chicago 1990.
46. Cardozo frequently cited, inter alia, Ehrlich, Gény, Jhering, Kantorowicz as well as other representatives of the free school of law (Gmelin, Zitelmann) and, of course, Pound. Also, in The Paradoxes of Legal Science, New York 1928, Cardozo cited jurisprudential works by Jhering, Stammler, Brütt, and Kaufmann as well as doctrinal works of several French authors.
47. Of course, there had been lawyers and legal scholars among the European immigrants before but it seems that very few of them had a significant influence on the course of American law and jurisprudence. An early exception was Francis Lieber (1798-1872); see F. Freidel, Francis Lieber, Nineteenth Century Liberal, Gloucester (Mass.) 1968.
48. See generally E.C. Stiefel/F. Mecklenburg, Deutsche Juristen im amerikanischen Exil 1933-1950, Tübingen 1991.
49. The contributions of the most important two dozen are considered in a collection of essays (in German and English) collected in M. Lutter, E.C. Stiefel, M.H. Hoeflich (eds.), Der Einfluß deutscher Emigranten auf die Rechtsentwicklung in den USA und in Deutschland, Tübingen 1993.
50. See W.C. Durham, Edgar Bodenheimer: Conservator of Civilized Legal Culture, in: Lutter/Stiefel/Hoeflich, supra note 45, p. 127.
51. See D.E. Arzt, Otto Kirchheimer: Critic of the Administration of Justice, ibid., p. 33.
52. See H. Bernstein, Friedrich Kessler's American Contract Scholarship and Its Political Subtext, ibid. p. 85;
53. J. Köndgen, Friedrich Kessler - Ein Grenzgänger zwischen den Disziplinen, ibid. p. 287;
54. O. Sandrock, Friedrich Kessler und das anglo-amerikanische Vertragsrecht, ibid. p. 475.
55. See D.J. Gerber, Heinrich Kronstein and The Development of United States Antitrust Law, ibid. p. 155.
56. See H.D. Krause, American Family Law and Brigitte Marianne Bodenheimer, ibid. p. 309.
57. See R. Stürner, Kurt Hans Nadelmann und Stefan Rieselfeld und ihr Einfluß auf das deutsche und europäische Insolvenzrecht, ibid. p. 495;
58. F. Juenger, Schlesinger's Influence on the Development of American Law, ibid. p. 225.
59. See Festschrift in Honor of Eric Stein, in: Michigan Law Review, 82 (1984), 1149.
60. R. Walter and C. Jabloner, Hans Kelsen, Leben - Werk - Wirkung, in Lutter/Stiefel/Hoeflich, supra note 45, p. 521, at p. 546-547.
61. See M. Reimann, Albert A. Ehrenzweig and the American Conflict of Laws: A Major Player with a Minor Influence, ibid. p. 397, at p. 415.
62. See D. Clark, The Influence of Ernst Rabel on American Law, ibid. p. 107, at p. 123-126.
63. See M.A. Glendon, The Influence of Max Rheinstein on American Law, ibid, p. 172;
64. W. v. Marschall, Max Rheinstein, The Influence of Max Rheinstein on American Law , ibid. p. 333.
65. See e.g. M. Kelman, A Guide to Critical Legal Studies, Cambridge (Mass.) 1987, at p. 111,
66. The influence of Habermas' theory of communication is visible e.g. in R.M. Unger, Knowledge and Politics, New York and London 1975, at p. 238-253.
67. See e.g. R.M. Unger, The Critical Legal Studies Movement, Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1983, at p. 121;
68. R.M. Unger, Law in Modern Society, New York and London 1976, at p. 132-133.
69. See especially R.M. Unger, Knowledge and Politics, supra note 61;
70. R.M. Unger, Law in Modern Society, supra note 62.
71. R.M. Unger, The Critical Legal Studies Movement, supra note 62, at p. 121.
72. Of course, European scholars have, in turn, been inspired by American Critical Legal Studies as well. The connections between continental and American critical legal thought are illustrated by the essays in C. Joerges and D.M. Trubek (eds.), Critical Legal Thought: An American-German Debate, Baden-Baden 1989.
73. See e.g. R. Abel, American Lawyers, New York and Oxford 1989 (especially p. 14-39);
74. D. Black, The Behavior of Law, New York, San Francisco and London 1976;
75. D. Black, Sociological Justice, New York and Oxford 1989;
76. W.J. Chambliss and R.B. Seidman, Law, Order, and Power, Reading (Mass.) - Menlo Park (Cal.) - London - Don Mills (Ontario) 1971;
77. R. Lempert and J. Sanders, An Invitation to Law and Social Science, New York and London 1986 (especially p. 2-4 and 9-12).
78. See, e.g., the list of international contributors to R. Abel, The Politics of Informal Justice, vol. II, New York 1982. In 1996 the Law & Society Association will hold its annual meeting in Europe for the second time in less than a decade.
79. Stein, The Attraction of the Civil Law, supra note 4, at p. 432
80. concludes that the impact on actual practice was weak while Helmholz, The Use of Civil Law, supra note 4, at p. 1682-1684, considers it fairly significant.
81. See B. Simpson, Innovation in 19th Century Contract Law, in: Law Quarterly Review, 91 (1975), 247.
82. Savigny's and the Pandectist German scholars' contract doctrines entered American law primarily via English scholarship, especially the work of Frederick Pollock and William Anson; see F. Pollock, Principles of Contract, 1st American ed. 1881, orig. 1876, p. VII, 1 et seq., 5, 7, 19, 78, 85, 89, 382 et seq., 407 et seq., etc.;
83. W. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract, American ed. 1880, p. 2, 4, 7 et seq., 25, etc.
84. see also S. Riesenfeld, The Influence of German Legal Theory on American Law: The Heritage of Savigny and His Disciples, in: American Journal of Comparative Law, 37 (1989), 1.
85. and J. Klapisch, Der Einfluß der deutschen und ö sterreichischen Emigranten auf contracts of adhesion und bargaining in good faith im US-amerikanischen Recht, Baden-Baden 1991.
86. See. J.Q. Whitman, Commercial Law and the American Volk: A Note on Llewellyn's German Sources for the Uniform Commercial Code, in: Yale Law Journal, 97 (1987), 156.
87. Another instance is the influence of continental, especially Dutch and French, doctrine on American conflicts law as established by Joseph Story, see J. Story, Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws, Boston 1834, see especially the List of Authors Cited, p. XI-XIV, and the footnotes throughout.
88. The work of Ernst Freund, who sought to establish a doctrinal framework for American administrative law and legislation by drawing on continental models, had only limited influence, see J. Reitz, The Influence of Ernst Freund on American Law, in: Lutter/Stiefe/Hoeflich, supra note 45, 423.
89. See e.g. J. Langbein, The Influence of the German Emigres on American Law: The Curious Case of Civil and Criminal Procedure, ibid. p. 321.
90. See S. Herman, The Louisiana Civil Code, A European Legacy for the United States, New Orleans 1993, p. 5-35.
91. See M. Reimann, The Historical School Against Codification: Savigny, Carter, and the Defeat of the New York Civil Code, in: American Journal of Comparative Law, 37 (1898), 95.
92. See D.C. Clark, The Civil Law Influence on David Dudley Field's Code of Civil Procedure, in: M. Reimann (ed.), supra note 33, p. 63.
93. See A.B. Schwartz, John Austin and the German Jurisprudence of his Time, Politica, 1 (1934), 178.
94. For an exposition of the common law style of reasoning, see M.A. Eisenberg, The Nature of the Common Law, Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1988.
95. For a modern exaltation of the common law virtues of prudence and practical wisdom, see A. Kronman, The Lost Lawyer, Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1993. Kronman aptly expresses the inclinations of the common lawyer writing that the latter 'instinctively distrusts abstract speculation', p. 21, and that the traditional 'conception of the lawyer's role is not only different from but antagonistic to the ideal of the scientist scholar', p. 316.
96. See also M.A. Glendon, A Nation Under Lawyers, New York 1994, p. 199-229.