This work is divided into two parts: a description of the founding and operation of the Law School at New York University, and selected original documents of Benjamin F.Butler. The history of the formation of this law school is not well known, and provides a wealth of information about the aspirations and problems of forming a law school in the ante-bellum period. The Butler documents were selected from more than 2,500 surviving papers and letters, and provide a deeper understanding of legal education and the profession of law in Jacksonian America.