A Judgment for Solomon: The d'Hauteville Case and Legal Experience in Antebellum America

A Judgment for Solomon tells the story of the d'Hauteville case, a controversial child custody battle fought in 1840. It uses the story of one couple's bitter fight over their son to explore some timebound and timeless features of American legal culture. This eagerly followed trial sparked a national debate over the legal rights and duties of mothers and fathers, husbands and wives. The d'Hauteville case explains why popular trials become "precedents of legal experience"-- mediums for debates about highly contested social issues. It also demonstrates the ability of individual women and men to contribute to legal change by turning to the law to fight for what they want.