The complexity and decentralization of the United States' legal system presents an intriguing intellectual puzzle to the historian of American legal medicine. Not only are there federal, state and local laws, but also city, county, and township jurisdictions, and English, French, and Spanish legal traditions. The varying levels of legal and medical education and practice, both within and between regions, are additional factors demanding study and consideration. Social historians have recently begun to examine the creation of national medico-legal institutions and issues and their change over time, viewing local differences as clues to historical understanding, rather than as obstacles. This essay contributes to this effort by examining the development of forensic pathology in the United States, paying particular attention to its institutional locus, the coroner's office. This office, where the application of forensic pathological knowledge legitimized social policy, was the site of confrontation for the professions of law, medicine, and politics.

The office of coroner is an inheritance from English common law. In the colonial and early federal eras it was a minor political office, whose occupant was usually appointed by the governor. Whereas English coroners were often physicians, attorneys, or local magistrates, American coroners usually had no professional qualifications, and were typically farmers, carters, or undertakers. This was due in part to the less metropolitan and class-conscious nature of American society, but the low population density and the geographical dispersal of the population also played a part. In many places, possession of a wagon suitable for hauling away bodies was a major recommendation for the job of coroner.