Creation american common law

Howard Schweber0521824621, 9780521824620, 9780511166266

America developed its own system of the “common law” (the name for legal principles developed by judges) in the mid-nineteenth century, abandoning the legal system inherited from England. This comparative study of the development of American law contrasts the experiences of North and South by a study of Illinois and Virginia, supported by observations from six states. It has an original comparative focus highlighting the connections between legal development, American political thought, and American political and economic development.

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Table of contents :
Cover……Page 1
Half-title……Page 3
Dedication……Page 4
Title……Page 5
Copyright……Page 6
Table of Contents……Page 7
Acknowledgments……Page 9
Introduction……Page 11
1 North and South……Page 23
Blackstone in America: The Reception of English Common Law and the Movement for Reform……Page 26
The North: Railroads, Progress, and Legal Innovation……Page 39
The South: Slavery, Reaction, and Legal Stasis……Page 48
Abraham Lincoln and the Northern Mind……Page 52
2 Illinois……Page 54
The Illinois Supreme Court, 1850–60……Page 71
Clashing Property Rights: Stock Crossing Cases……Page 73
Common Carrier Liability and the Creation of Extracontractual Duties of Care……Page 94
Injuries to Strangers: Crossing Cases……Page 100
Passengers……Page 107
Employees: The Illinois Fellow-Servant Rule……Page 121
5 The North……Page 128
Ohio……Page 129
Vermont……Page 140
New York: Learned Hand……Page 146
Conclusion……Page 156
6 Virginia through the 1850s……Page 157
Virginia: East and West……Page 158
The Constitutional Convention of 1850……Page 172
7 The Common Law of Antebellum Virginia……Page 178
The Challenge of Corporations……Page 182
Stock Cases……Page 186
Injuries to Persons……Page 190
Contributory Negligence and the Fellow-Servant Rule……Page 198
8 Virginia’s Version of American Common Law……Page 204
Damage to Property……Page 210
Injuries to Strangers……Page 214
Corporations Public and Private……Page 226
Damage to Property: Stock and Slaves……Page 236
Injuries to Persons: Crossing Cases……Page 246
Contractual Relationships……Page 249
The Postbellum South: The Adoption of Modern Doctrines in Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky……Page 255
10 Legal Change and Social Order……Page 269
Changes in American Legal Doctrine: The Case of Third-Party Beneficiary Contracts……Page 274
The Nature of Legal Citizenship……Page 278
Index of Cases……Page 283
Bibliography……Page 289
Index……Page 303