The People's Welfare - (Studies in Legal History) by William J Novak (Paperback)

About the Book

People s Welfare: Law and Regulation in Nineteenth-Century America"

Book Synopsis

Much of today's political rhetoric decries the welfare state and our maze of government regulations. Critics hark back to a time before the state intervened so directly in citizens' lives. In The People's Welfare, William Novak refutes this vision of a stateless past by documenting America's long history of government regulation in the areas of public safety, political economy, public property, morality, and public health. Challenging the myth of American individualism, Novak recovers a distinctive nineteenth-century commitment to shared obligations and public duties in a well-regulated society. Novak explores the by-laws, ordinances, statutes, and common law restrictions that regulated almost every aspect of America's society and economy, including fire regulations, inspection and licensing rules, fair marketplace laws, the moral policing of prostitution and drunkenness, and health and sanitary codes. Based on a reading of more than one thousand court cases in addition to the leading legal and political texts of the nineteenth century, The People's Welfare demonstrates the deep roots of regulation in America and offers a startling reinterpretation of the history of American governance.

Review Quotes

This is a comprehensive and well documented book, showing the author 's competence in a number of disciplines.

"Business History Review"

[A] provocative, prodigiously researched, and beautifully written book.

"Reviews in American History"

[A]n ambitious research design, presented with admirable clarity and verve.

"Yale Law Journal"

Offers a vigorous and effective challenge to two related bodies of literature [on legal regulation].

"American Historical Review"

Sophisticated and provocative, well-written, well-argued, and exhaustively researched.

"Law and Legal History"

ÝA¨ provocative, prodigiously researched, and beautifully written book.

"Reviews in American History"

ÝA¨n ambitious research design, presented with admirable clarity and verve.

"Yale Law Journal"

"[A] provocative, prodigiously researched, and beautifully written book.

"Reviews in American History""

"[A]n ambitious research design, presented with admirable clarity and verve.

"Yale Law Journal""

"Sophisticated and provocative, well-written, well-argued, and exhaustively researched.

"Law and Legal History""

"This is a comprehensive and well documented book, showing the authorUs competence in a number of disciplines.

"Business History Review""