The Common Law Tradition in America

Using a thematic approach to American law and legal history, The Common Law Tradition in America introduces readers to the scholars, judges, and critics who made the law at once a stable source of rules and a dynamic system capable of responding to social and economic changes.

Beginning with the common law “at home” in England on the eve of the American Revolution, the book introduces readers to the scholarly Sir William Blackstone, the activist judge Lord Mansfield, and the radical critic Jeremy Bentham. Having established the themes of tradition, innovation, and criticism, the book then examines the challenges that faced the common law in America: written constitutions, a new form of legal education, and the rapidly growing number of statutes. Finally, using selected examples, the book demonstrates the continuing influence of these themes in present American law.

As befits “a personal statement,” The Common Law Tradition in America is written in a relaxed style, enlivened with engaging anecdotes. It offers law students, researchers of legal history, practicing lawyers, and the general reader an overview of law and legal development, above the technicalities of law school and practice.