J.
Pierpont Morgan, the symbol of monopolostic excess to progressive reformersMarch 29: Progressivism and the Law
J.
Pierpont Morgan, the symbol of monopolostic excess to progressive reformers
| We'll be covering quite a bit of ground in the assignment today. First of all, we'll be having another moot court, Muller v. Oregon, a case that dealth with labor and women's issues, but in a very peculiar sort of way. We also will be taking a brief look at the single most famous case of the Progressive Era, Lochner v. New York. |
READING
secondary:
| Republic According to John Marshall Harlan, pp.147-184. |
| Kens, Lochner, sourcebook |
primary:
| Lochner v. New York: Harlan dissent |
| Muller v. Oregon (1908) |
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STUDY QUESTIONS
In addition to preparing for the moot court, please ponder the following questions as you read:
1.) How could the same court decide Lochner and Muller the way it did? What was the common ground intellectually between the two cases? |
2.) Given that increasing popular participation formed one of the key elements of the Progressive Era, was it inevitable that the Supreme Court--regardless of its decisions--would have become a target of criticism? |
3.) Given the emphasis on states' rights in Harlan's dissent and the talk about the special status of women in Muller, can either of these opinions be viewed as "progressive" in their conclusions? |