This 5-volume set focuses on the substance of American law, the processes that produce its legal principles, and the history of the Supreme Court, from its creation to the present. One of the encyclopedia's distinguishing themes is the examination of case law, the essential texts that form the backbone of legal and pre-legal study in the United States. Overview essays address the history of such topics as citizenship, due process, Native Americans, racism, and contraception, emphasizing the social context of each and the social and political pressures that shaped interpretation. This approach plays directly into the cutting-edge field known as the "law and social issues movement," which studies political and non-judicial history, and advocates a "law outside the courts" approach. The 1,100 peer-reviewed articles cover concepts, cases, topics, personalities, institutions, events, and processes. Written in accessible language and supplemented with a glossary, thematic outline, historical documents, illustrations, and indexes this title provides context and ease-of-use to law and pre-law students, professors, legal professionals and general users.