An essential, rigorous, and lively introduction to the beginnings of
American law.
How did American colonists transform British law into their own? What
were the colonies' first legal institutions, and who served in them? And
why did the early Americans develop a passion for litigation that
continues to this day?
In Law and People in Colonial America, Peter Charles Hoffer tells the
story of early American law from its beginnings on the British mainland
to its maturation during the crisis of the American Revolution. For the
men and women of colonial America, Hoffer explains, law was a pervasive
influence in everyday life. Because it was their law, the colonists
continually adapted it to fit changing circumstances. They also
developed a sense of legalism that influenced virtually all social,
economic, and political relationships. This sense of intimacy with the
law, Hoffer argues, assumed a transforming power in times of crisis. In
the midst of a war for independence, American revolutionaries used their
intimacy with the law to explain how their rebellion could be lawful,
while legislators wrote republican constitutions that would endure for
centuries.
Today the role of law in American life is more pervasive than ever. And
because our system of law involves a continuing dialogue between past
and present, interpreting the meaning of precedent and of past
legislation, the study of legal history is a vital part of every
citizen's basic education. Taking advantage of rich new scholarship that
goes beyond traditional approaches to view slavery as a fundamental
cultural and social institution as well as an economic one, this second
edition includes an extensive, entirely new chapter on colonial and
revolutionary-era slave law. Law and People in Colonial America is a
lively introduction to early American law. It makes for essential
reading.
