Walton Hale Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Walton Hale Hamilton was an American law professor who taught at the Yale Law School
(1928–1948), although he was an economist, not a lawyer. Considered a leading figure in the Legal Realism
movement at Yale, Hamilton was a vigorous critic of legal formalism and sought to apply the insights of economic studies to the law. Hamilton taught courses in trade regulation
, tort
s, and public control of business. He was a professor of law at the Yale Law School from 1928 to 1948, and was ultimately appointed Southmayd Professor of Law, emeritus.
He argued that legal concepts evolved in specific historical and social contexts and that, when they were removed from their context and generalized into universal legal principles, they led to socially undesirable, often unexpected results. He developed these arguments in a series of articles in the 1930s, which included: Affectation with a Public Interest (1930), The Ancient Maxim Caveat Emptor (1931), and The Path of Due Process of Law (1938). Hamilton also undertook a series of industry studies that sought to show that wages and prices were not set by market forces as understood by neoclassical economists but instead depended on social and historical contexts, so that the results were noncompetitive wages and prices.
Hamilton authored the following works, among others:
He co-authored:
Hamilton received a B.A. degree from the University of Texas in 1907 and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan
in 1913. He married Lucile Elizabeth Rhodes in 1909; they had three children. After her death he married Irene Till, on July 20, 1937; they had two children. He died in Washington, D.C.
, on October 27, 1958.
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
(1928–1948), although he was an economist, not a lawyer. Considered a leading figure in the Legal Realism
Legal realism
Legal realism is a school of legal philosophy that is generally associated with the culmination of the early-twentieth century attack on the orthodox claims of late-nineteenth-century classical legal thought in the United States...
movement at Yale, Hamilton was a vigorous critic of legal formalism and sought to apply the insights of economic studies to the law. Hamilton taught courses in trade regulation
Trade regulation
Trade regulation is a field of law, often bracketed with antitrust , including government regulation of unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive business acts or practices. Antitrust law is often considered a subset of trade regulation law...
, tort
Tort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
s, and public control of business. He was a professor of law at the Yale Law School from 1928 to 1948, and was ultimately appointed Southmayd Professor of Law, emeritus.
He argued that legal concepts evolved in specific historical and social contexts and that, when they were removed from their context and generalized into universal legal principles, they led to socially undesirable, often unexpected results. He developed these arguments in a series of articles in the 1930s, which included: Affectation with a Public Interest (1930), The Ancient Maxim Caveat Emptor (1931), and The Path of Due Process of Law (1938). Hamilton also undertook a series of industry studies that sought to show that wages and prices were not set by market forces as understood by neoclassical economists but instead depended on social and historical contexts, so that the results were noncompetitive wages and prices.
Hamilton authored the following works, among others:
- Current Economic Problems (1915, 1925)
- Price and Price Policies (1938)
- The Pattern of Competition (1940)
- Patents and Free Enterprise (1941)
- The Politics of Industry (1951)
He co-authored:
- The Control of Wages (1923)
- The Case of Bituminous Coal (1925)
- A Way of Order for Bituminous Coal (1928)
- The Power to Govern (1937)
- Antitrust in Action (1940)
Hamilton received a B.A. degree from the University of Texas in 1907 and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1913. He married Lucile Elizabeth Rhodes in 1909; they had three children. After her death he married Irene Till, on July 20, 1937; they had two children. He died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, on October 27, 1958.
Further reading
- Robert W. Gordon, “Professors and Policymakers,” in History of the Yale Law School (ed. Anthony T. Kronman 2004).
- The Heyday of Legal Realism, 1928-1954.
- Handbook of Texas Online (accessed April 15, 2009).