The American History Shelf

Seward's Law
Peter Charles Hoffer
Cornell University Press
512 East State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
9781501767333, $39.95, HC, 210pp

https://www.amazon.com/Sewards-Law-Country-Lawyering-Relational/dp/15017673=
3X

Synopsis: With the publication of "Seward's Law: Country Lawyering, Relatio= nal Rights, and Slavery", Professor Peter Charles Hoffer argues that Willia=
m H. Seward's legal practice in Auburn, New York, informed his theory of re= lational rights -- a theory that demonstrated how the country could end sla= very and establish a practical form of justice.

This theory, Professor Hoffer demonstrates, had ties to Seward's career as =
a country lawyer. Despite his rise to prominence, and indeed preeminence, a=
s a US secretary of state, Seward's country-lawyer mentality endured throug= hout his life, as evinced in his personal attitudes and professional conduc=
t.

Relational rights, identified and termed here for the first time by Hoffer,=
are communal and reciprocal, what everyone owed to every other member of t= heir community. Such rights are at the center of a jurisprudential outlook = that arises directly from living in a village.

Though Seward was limited by the Victorian mores and the racialist presumpt= ions of his day, the concept of relational rights that animated him was the=
natural antithesis to the theories and practices of slavery. In the legal = regime underpinning the institution, masters owed nothing to their bondmen = and women, while those enslaved unconditionally owed life and labor to thei=
r masters.

The irrepressible conflict was, for Seward, jurisprudential as well as mora=
l and political. Hoffer's leading assumption in Seward's Law is that a life= time spent as a lawyer influences how a person responds to everyday challen= ges. Seward remained a country lawyer at heart, and that fact defined the c= ourse of his political career.

Critique: "Seward's Law: Country Lawyering, Relational Rights, and Slavery"=
by Professor Peter Charles Hoffer is an impressive and meticulous biograph=
y and historical analysis of William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 - October 1=
0, 1872) in terms of 19th Century American politics, including his impact o=
n the issue of slavery expanding beyond the Southern states. An active and = articulate opponent of the spread of slavery in the years leading up to the=
American Civil War, Seward was a prominent figure in the Republican Party =
in its formative years, and was effective in his work on behalf of the Unio=
n as Secretary of State during the Civil War. He is also noted for having n= egotiated the treaty for the United States to purchase the Alaskan Territor=
y from Russia. While also readily available for the personal reading lists =
of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest =
in 19th Century American History & Politics in a digital book format (Kindl=
e, $20.49), "Seward's Law: Country Lawyering, Relational Rights, and Slaver=
y" is an especially recommended addition to community and academic library = 19th Century American History/Biography collections, as well as American An= ti-Slavery History supplemental curriculum studies list.

Editorial Note: The author, coauthor, or editor of several works, Peter Cha= rles Hoffer (https://history.uga.edu/directory/people/peter-charles-hoffer)=
is the Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Ge= orgia.

The Missouri Home Guard
Petra DeWitt
University of Missouri Press
113 Heinkel Bldg., 201 S. 7th Street, Columbia, MO 65211 https://upress.missouri.edu
9780826222664, $40.00, HC, 242pp

https://www.amazon.com/Missouri-Home-Guard-Protecting-during/dp/0826222668

Synopsis: Missouri was one of many states that established a defense organi= zation to take over the duties of the National Guard that had been federali= zed for military service when the United States declared war on Germany in = 1917. The tasks of this volunteer Home Guard included traditional National = Guard responsibilities such as providing introductory military training for=
draftable men, protecting crucial infrastructure from potential enemy acti= vities, and maintaining law and order during labor activism.

The Home Guard also functioned to preserve patriotism and reduce opposition=
to the war. Service in the Guard was a way to show loyalty to one's countr=
y, particularly for German Americans, who were frequently under suspicion a=
s untrustworthy. Many German Americans in Missouri enthusiastically signed =
up to dispel any whispers of treason, while others found themselves torn be= tween the motherland and their new homeland.

Men too old or exempt from the draft for other reasons found meaning in hel= ping with the war effort through the Home Guard while also garnering respec=
t from the community. For similar reasons, women attempted to join the orga= nization as did African Americans, some of whom formed units of a "Negro Ho=
me Guard."

Informed by the dynamics of race, gender, and ethnicity, "The Missouri Home=
Guard: Protecting the Home Front during the Great War" by Professor Petra = DeWitt focuses upon this understudied but important organization and knowle= dgeably examines the fluctuating definition of patriotism and the very real=
question of who did and who did not have the privilege of citizenship and = acceptance in society.

Critique: A seminal study that is enhanced for the reader with the inclusio=
n of numerous illustrations, fifty pages of Notes, a twelve page Bibliograp= hy, and a twenty-two page Index, "The Missouri Home Guard: Protecting the H= ome Front during the Great War" is an unreservedly recommended addition to = personal, professional, community, and academic library 20th Century Americ=
an History collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists o=
f students, academia, and non- specialist general readers with an interest =
in the subject that "The Missouri Home Guard" is also available in a digita=
l book format (Kindle, $38.00).

Editorial Note: Petra DeWitt (https://missourioverthere.org/about/?historia= n=3Dpetra-dewitt) is Associate Professor of History and Political Science a=
t the Missouri University of Science and Technology. DeWitt specializes in = migration and ethnic history and has published several articles and encyclo= pedia submissions on those subjects. She is also the author of Degrees of A= llegiance: Harassment and Loyalty in Missouri's German-American Community d= uring World War I, which won the State Historical Society of Missouri's Mis= souri Book Award in 2012.

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