The Anti-Rent Era in New York Law and Politics, 1839-1865

Charles W. McCurdy is professor of history and law at the University of Virginia.
For more information about Charles W. McCurdy, visit the Author Page.

"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

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

"[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 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

"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] 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