Schouler, James (1839–1920)

views updated

SCHOULER, JAMES (1839–1920)

Massachusetts-born James Schouler, while a Union officer in the civil war, contracted a fever that left him nearly deaf. He nevertheless rose to national prominence as an attorney and historian. Although his law practice was successful—his first Supreme Court victory was Hosmer v. United States, 1872)—he gave it up (because of his disability) in favor of teaching. His main historical work was the nationalistic History of the United States under the Constitution (7 volumes, 1880–1913), which he conceived as the first comprehensive account of American political and legal history. He also wrote Constitutional Studies: State and Federal (1897) and biographies of thomas jefferson and alexander hamilton.

Dennis J. Mahoney
(1986)