History of the Department of Law and Philosophy

The study of the disciplines of law and philosophy date, in one way or another, to the founding of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point in 1802. Law has been continuously taught to cadets at the Academy since the early 1820s. Legal instruction was originally housed in the Department of Geography, History, and Ethics until a stand-alone Department of Law was created by Congress in 1874.

The original Department of Law was built under the leadership and service of extraordinary Judge Advocates. The first professor of law, MAJ Asa Bird Gardiner, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the Battle of Gettysburg. He was followed four years later by MG Norman Lieber, son of Dr. Francis Lieber, author of the Lieber Code, which served as the basis for General Orders 101 (rules regarding conduct in war) during the Civil War. Lieber introduced the study of the laws of war to the curriculum at West Point. After his service at West Point, he went on to become the longest serving Judge Advocate General in Army history.

Changes to the academic curriculum in 1999 gave cadets the ability to pursue academic majors, including the Law and Legal Studies major. Since then, interest in the Law and Legal Studies major among the Corps of Cadets has increased exponentially through the years. In 2024, the Department made 57 seats available to the Class of 2027 to pursue the major. All available seats were quickly filled in a competitive process that regretfully saw over a dozen strong applicants turned away. 

The study of philosophy also has a storied history here at the Academy. Moral philosophy was taught by various departments as far back as 1802. On April 14, 1818, Sylvanus Thayer, the “Father of the Military Academy,” established a professorship of History, Geography, and Ethics, and in doing so, created the first formal department for the study of philosophy. 

The 1840s witnessed the formation of the first “stand-alone” Department of Ethics at the Academy. At that time, first- and third-class cadets took courses in rhetoric, logic, moral philosophy, and ethics. Following the end of the Civil War, studies in the humanities were paused until 1877. 

Over the next 100 years, instruction in ethics was conducted at the discretion of Academy leadership but was not unified in a single program. Then, in 1976, the Secretary of the Army charged a committee led by Frank Borman (USMA 1950) to review the implementation of West Point’s Honor Code and the effectiveness of instruction in ethics and professionalism at the Academy. The Borman Commission recommended a comprehensive academic program in philosophy, ethics, and professional development. The Department of the Army subsequently directed the Academy to reintroduce its earlier courses in ethics and philosophy.

In 2009, the Department of English formally changed its name to the Department of English and Philosophy to properly recognize its responsibilities in both disciplines. Over the following 14 years, the Academy’s philosophy program continued to thrive, providing cadets with a comprehensive foundation in ethics, moral reasoning, and critical thinking. 

In 2023, the Dean of the Academic Board directed a review of the organization of the 13 academic departments at the Academy. Pursuant to that review, in December 2023, the Academic Board approved a recommendation to the Superintendent that the Philosophy program be merged with the Law and Legal Studies program in a single academic department, and that the Superintendent seek approval from the Secretary of the Army to rename the Department of Law as the Department of Law and Philosophy.  

On July 1, 2024, in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 7432(a), the Secretary of the Army approved the renaming of the Department of Law and “the Department of Law and Philosophy” was born.