Realistically, I did not expect to find ‘smoking gun’ evidence of social policymaking through character and fitness examination; the mere fact that historical bar exams were orally administered would likely prevent it. However, I propose that an interesting question exists of whether bar exam character and fitness standards tended to be more or less progressive than widely held norms of the time regarding race, religion, and potentially homosexuality. I find this question interesting because I can readily imagine reasonable arguments supporting both positions, and scholarship in the field is thin.

Legal Ethics, Fifth Ed. Rhode, Luban. Foundation Press, 2009.