ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a historical overview of law and inequality in the United States before turning to the contemporary era. Evidence for the law and inequality thesis also exists in regard to race and ethnicity. The chapter discusses the civil justice dimension of this thesis before turning to the criminal justice dimension. American history is filled with examples of the two related aspects of law and inequality just outlined: the impact of social inequality on the origins of law and the operation of the legal system, and the use of law to foster social inequality. The chapter considers the historical evidence for social class, race and ethnicity, and gender, respectively. The United States has long been regarded as a land of equal opportunity, a land where people who work hard can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and achieve the American dream.
