American Jurisprudence eBook

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Graduating Classes:

Modern jurisprudence has reached its present development as the result of the combined forces which have operated from the organization of primitive society with steady uniformity, though in varying degrees, during the whole historical period, to improve human conditions and secure human rights. It is the product of innumerable conflicts and the degree of development of the jurisprudence of a nation is in a real sense a measure of its moral, material and intellectual advancement. The science of jurisprudence is a department of human learning, the history of which is the history of civilization itself. It connects itself more nearly than any other with pervading human interests, in that it relates to the security and preservation of the civil, political and personal rights of every member of the community. It marks in its gradual advance the progress of the race. It has its basis in the laws and institutions which regulate the reciprocal relations of the state and the citizens, and of citizens to each other, and the mutual rights and obligations of independent nations. They are its concrete expression. The laws and jurisprudence of a state furnish the most fruitful aid in historical investigation. They form the most material and instructive portions of its history.