The Anti-Rent Era in New York Law and Politics, 1839-1865 - (Studies in Legal History) by Charles W McCurdy (Paperback)

About the Book

McCurdy highlights the manifold ways in which law and politics shaped both the pattern of the Anti-Rent violence and the drive for land reforms in the 1800s. He provides a major reinterpretation of the ideas and institutions that diminished the promise of American democracy in the supposed Rgolden ageS of American law and politics. (Legal Reference/Law Profession)

Book Synopsis

A compelling blend of legal and political history, this book chronicles the largest tenant rebellion in U.S. history. From its beginning in the rural villages of eastern New York in 1839 until its collapse in 1865, the Anti-Rent movement impelled the state's governors, legislators, judges, and journalists, as well as delegates to New York's bellwether constitutional convention of 1846, to wrestle with two difficult problems of social policy. One was how to put down violent tenant resistance to the enforcement of landlord property and contract rights. The second was how to abolish the archaic form of land tenure at the root of the rent strike.

Charles McCurdy considers the public debate on these questions from a fresh perspective. Instead of treating law and politics as dependent variables -- as mirrors of social interests or accelerators of social change -- he highlights the manifold ways in which law and politics shaped both the pattern of Anti-Rent violence and the drive for land reform. In the process, he provides a major reinterpretation of the ideas and institutions that diminished the promise of American democracy in the supposed "golden age" of American law and politics.

Review Quotes

"[A] deeply-researched and wonderfully detailed legal and political analysis. . . . McCurdy is a masterful guide, leading the reader through the intricacies of . . . law, the dynamics of self-interested party politics, and the complex interaction of national and state affairs. . . . An extraordinarily rewarding [read], perhaps the best study of nineteenth-century law and politics now in print." -- Journal of the Early Republic

"[This book] serves as an important reminder of the value of institutional studies and their limitations. [McCurdy's] account of the apparently sincere struggle to find a legal solution to the heightening problems on the manors is a fascinating read." -- Reviews in American History

"Charles McCurdy has written a meticulously researched, exemplary study of the Anti-rent wars." -- Law and History Review

"Exhaustively-researched and richly detailed." -- New York Law Journal

"McCurdy offers us a compelling cautionary tale about the need to understand the limits and constraints of democratic institutions in our past and our present." -- Virginia Quarterly Review

"Provides essential political history and expertly, lucidly dissects . . . court decisions and statutes. . . . McCurdy masterfully demonstrates how national politics repeatedly had a significant impact on the anti-rent struggle. . . . Splendid. . . . Clear and comprehensive." -- Law & Social Inquiry

"This book is worth reading for its detailed and engaging description of the Anti-Rent movement itself and for the light it sheds on the legal and political context framing the controversy." -- Harvard Law Review

"Well-researched and elegantly written, McCurdy's book admirably fills the need for a thorough legal history of Anti-Rent and sets the standard for scholarly inquiry into the episode." -- New York History

"With the acute understanding of a veteran legal historian, McCurdy dissects the arguments and strategies of the chief protagonists in the conflict, proceeding carefully through the legislature, press, a constitutional convention, and relevant court decisions. His ability to clarify complex issues and decode devious stratagems is impressive. . . . [This] study opens up vistas showing the manifold ways in which politicians/lawyers shaped the possibilities for democratic reform." -- CHOICE