This chapter argues that the structure of legal fields in contemporary Continental Europe and the United States, as well as their connection to the political field, took shape as the result of a process of accommodation and internal restructuring that began in the early nineteenth century. The analysis is a long-term one, aimed at grasping the dominant features of the legal cultures of these two countries so that the contrasts and similarities between them come to light. The structuring of the French legal field was marked by a legal doctrine considered autonomous and neutral, which gave way to a minimal or nonexistent application of the symbolic uses of law. On the other hand, the structuring of the American legal field was marked by a legal practice connected to social reality and the political field, which resulted in a less autonomous and neutral doctrine that was more amenable to political uses of law. The chapter explores the sociopolitical visions of law that were in place in the early twentieth century; offers an analysis of the evolution of the French and American legal fields; and provides commentary on the main sociopolitical differences between these two legal fields.