"The history of the federal courts has been badly neglected. This superb volume fills a great need." --Dr. James B. O'Hara, Trustee, Supreme Court Historical Society

"Mark Lender knows that the historical significance of a federal court is to be found in the stories of the citizens who relied on that court for justice. Using archival records of the New Jersey district court, Lender explains how Americans interacted with a federal court over more than two hundred years. His emphasis on judicial leadership also makes clear that the decisions of the court contributed to the benefits of federal union for New Jersey. The result is one of the most complete studies of the impact of a federal court on the political culture and economic prosperity of a single state." --Dr. Bruce Ragsdale, author of A Planters' Republic: The Search for Economic Independence in Revolutionary Virginia

The United States District Court for New Jersey is one of the original thirteen federal district courts established under the new constitutional government in 1789. The courts of the District have functioned without interruption for over two centuries, and during this time they have become a major institutional presence. Each year, thousands of new civil and criminal cases are filed, making it one of the busiest district courts in the nation-and a mirror of the federal justice system.

In this first historical account of the District of New Jersey, Mark Edward Lender traces its evolution from its origins through the turn of the twenty-first century. Drawing on extensive original records, including those in the National Archives, he shows how it was at the district court level that the new nation first tested the role of federal law and authority. From these early decades through today, the cases tried in New Jersey stand as prime examples of the legal and constitutional developments that have shaped the course of federal justice. At critical moments in our history, the courts participated in the Alien and Sedition Acts, the transition from Federalist to Jeffersonian political authority, the balancing of state and federal roles during the Civil War and Reconstruction, and modern controversies over civil rights and affirmative action.

Situating the District of New Jersey in the broader context of U.S. history, Lender shows how the state's federal courts have long reflected the ebb and flow of American legal, social, political, and economic developments.

Mark Edward Lender is the chairman of the history department at Kean University in Union, New Jersey.

Foreword by John W. Bissell, Chief Judge United States District Court
Preface
Abbreviations
Chapter 1. The Birth of the Court: The Origins of the District of New Jersey
Chapter 2. "Stability and Dignity": Judge Robert Morris and the Formative Years, 1789-1815
Chapter 3. Others of the Court: Personnel, Politics, and Continuity to 1815
Chapter 4. The Antebellum Courts: Judges, Politics, and Change
Chapter 5. The Civil War: National Crisis and Judicial Response
Chapter 6. Caseloads and Consequences: Court Calendars, Court Reform, and Courthouses to the 1900s
Chapter 7. A Multi-Judge Court: The Evolution of the Bench
Chapter 8. Institutional Growth through Mid-Century: Courthouses and the "Court Family"
Chapter 9 .To the 1950s: The District Court as Political History
Chapter 10. Toward Equality: The District Court and Constitutional Rights
Chapter 11. Into the Present: Familiar Themes and Modern Responses
Notes
Index