Forming a more perfect union

"From its beginnings in 1892 in Saratoga, New York, the Uniform Law Commission has been a major force in maintaining and strengthening 'federalism' in the United States. In order to maintain a healthy balance between state and federal law, state law must be strong and effective in areas where it has been traditionally applied. And in order for state law to be strong and effective, it must, when appropriate, be uniform across state lines. That is the mission of the Uniform Law Commission: 'to promote uniformity in the law among the several States on subjects as to which uniformity is desirable and practicable.' Many of the leading law reformers of the past 120 years have been commissioners on uniform state laws, including Samuel Williston, James Barr Ames, Roscoe Pound, William Draper Lewis, and John H. Wigmore - all giants of law reform in the early 20th century.^ The more than 2500 commissioners over the past 120 years include one United States President (Woodrow Wilson), four Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States (Louis D. Brandeis, Wiley B. Rutledge, William H. Rehnquist and David H. Souter) and 22 Presidents of the American Bar Association. This history of the Uniform Law Commission traces its development from an initial gathering in 1892 of 12 commissioners representing seven states to the present 381 commissioners from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The history records the Commission's many accomplishments and challenges along the way through two world wars, a great depression and the promulgation of its greatest triumph, the Uniform Commercial Code.^ Led by leaders of the practicing bar, brilliant academic lawyers, highly distinguished judges and legendary legislators, the Uniform Law Commission has promulgated more than 300 uniform and model acts for adoption by the states. This history is a must read for anyone interested in the forces that shaped American law since the founding of the nation and particularly over the past 120 years"--Unedited summary from book jacket.