Laws came into conflict with the Westminster trustees over matters of discipline, and at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 he was arrested and tried for treason after refusing to sign an oath of allegiance to the federal government.

Thus, as early as 1866, brokerage houses willing to pay the monthly fee could base trades on up-to-the-minute market information rather than waiting for runners to bring the news.

In June 1869, Laws hired a penniless would-be inventor named Thomas A. Edison as mechanical supervisor.

After he stepped down from the presidency in 1889, he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he continued to write books and manage his investments.

Following retirement from his teaching career, he lived in Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and finally Asheville, North Carolina where he died in 1921.