This book is a general history of the legal system of the United States, beginning in the colonial period, and continuing up to the present. The work was originally published in 1973; this is the fourth edition, which brings the material up to date and incorporates recent research. The book covers the changing configurations of commercial law, criminal law, and family law, and the law of property; lays great stress on race relations, especially black-white relations; it deals also with the legal profession and legal education. The approach throughout is geared toward an intelligent lay audience. Legal jargon is avoided. The underlying theory of the book is that law is the product of society, so that what is attempted, in essence, is a more or less sociological history of the legal system, as it evolved over the years.