Product Description
The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History is a comprehensive, international, interdisciplinary reference work that includes approximately 1,000 articles on all aspects of legal history throughout the world from ancient to modern times. Articles deal with private law, public law, and constitutional/higher law throughout the world; each article is signed by one of the set's many noteworthy contributors, which include major scholars and experts.

For years, scholars have been investigating the remote origins of their respective national and religious laws. Only recently has there been a developing interest in and study of the history of law in modern times.The Encyclopedia will bring together the study of ancient law with the study of modern law - examining statutes and administrative rulings as well as judicial decisions, legislatures, agencies, and courts.

The Encyclopedia covers ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern law in eight legal traditions and geographical/cultural areas: Ancient Greek Law, Ancient Roman Law, Chinese Law, English Common Law, Islamic Law, Medieval Roman Law, United States Law, and law in other regions (Africa, Latin America, and South Asia among them). It also addresses major categories of law within these traditions, including private law (contract, tort, civil procedure), varieties of public law (criminal law, administrative law, statutory law), and higher law/ constitutional law. It is the first encyclopedia of law to provide historical and contemporary comparisons of world legal systems. ... Read more

Product Description
Land grant disputes from the nineteenth century have divided and embittered some people for most of the twentieth century. In an attempt to bring final resolution to lingering controversies in New Mexico and throughout the West, in 2000 the U.S. Congress pledged to review disputed claims in the next few years.

The Pecos Grant is illustrative of legal and administrative wrangling over land grants. To ensure that a U.S. Senate Committee understood the complexity of the Pecos Grant, New Mexico lawyer and historian Ralph Emerson Twitchell told them in 1923: “There are so many things in connection with this entire business that twenty King Solomons cannot unravel the knot.” Yet in this book Hall does sort through the conflicting claims in the over one hundred years of Spanish, Mexican, and American legal maneuvers, legislative stalemates, and private sales involving this 18,000 acre square of land. ... Read more

Product Description
Revised and expanded in this third edition, American Legal History now features a new coauthor, James Ely, who is a specialist on property rights. This highly acclaimed text provides a comprehensive selection of the most important documents in the field, which integrates the history of public and private law from America's colonial origins to the present. Devoting special attention to the interaction of social and legal change, it shows how legal ideas developed in tandem with specific historical events and reveals a rich legal culture unique to America. The book also deals with state and federal courts and looks at the relationship between the development of American society, politics, and economy, and how it relates to the evolution of American law. Introductions and instructive headnotes accompany each document, tying legal developments to broader historical themes and providing a social and political context essential to an understanding of the history of law in America.American Legal History, Third Edition, offers fresh material throughout and increased coverage of cases on such topics as slave law, politics, and terrorism. The authors have incorporated more cases dealing with minority rights, including Native American and Asian American rights, women's rights, and gender and gay rights. Two new chapters have been added to this edition: one on law and economics in modern America, including a discussion of the new federalism, and the other on law, politics, and terrorism, including a full discussion of the USA PATRIOT Act. The "since 1945" portion includes up-to-date material and current cases. The section on English background and colonial America has been expanded. In addition, there is new material on the most recent developments in American constitutional and legal history. Setting the legal challenges of the twenty-first century in a broad context, American Legal History, Third Edition, is an essential text for students and teachers of constitutional and legal history, the judicial process, and the effects of law on society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great survey of American law
I read this for a class and in all honesty, it is a great read whether or not its for a class or just for fun. It gives a survey of the important and sometimes well known cases. It's a perfect addition to any bookshelf. Especially those bookshelves of law students, history students, and history buffs. There is a newer addition out there, which people may want to purchase instead of this one. I really enjoyed reading this. It layed the cases out so it was easy to udnerstand and if you were looking for one particular cases it was easy to find. I definitely recommend this.

Dred Scott Returns
Many people reading this book will be law students, but even for those who aren't, Kermit Hall's collection is a terrific resource for readers of history and politics. In a real sense, if you're looking for a "road map" to see how America got to where it is, the "legal" history in many respects trumps military, political and economic histories. Here you'll find ll the usual suspects - Magna Charta, the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Colonial Charters, the American Revolution, Dred Scott, Griswald, Miranda, Roe v. Wade. Expect the next edition to carry Bush v. Gore.

greatest hits of the law
This is a terrific book.I use it for teaching Law & Public Policy to political science masters students.The authors have done a great job winnowing the dusty tomes of legal history to the essential nuggets.In addition to the classics, they've selected some hilarious "voice of the people" sources one might never come across in standard legal history texts.I really enjoy this book! ... Read more

Product Description
In the late 1860s South Carolina Klansmen unleashed a reign of terror over blacks, and even some whites, in the state.Suppression of the uprising entailed federal military intervention, suspension of habeas corpus in nine counties, widespread undercover investigations, highly publicized trials, and the conviction of several Klansmen.All are detailed in this gripping study. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Sobering Book About "Regime Change"
I was troubled to discover the negative review above, because I regard this as a truly outstanding book.Indeed, I have decided to recommend it to incoming law students at the University of Texas Law School as one of the best ways to understand the limits of law and legal institutions.This book, although ostensibly about a very narrow subject, helps us to understand why what has come to be called "regime change"--or "reconstruction"--is so very difficult, if not impossible, unless one is willing to put almost limitless resources into the project.

South Carolina, the home of the most hotheaded secessionists, might have lost the battle, but most of the white population had scarcely changed its mind about proper political relations between whites and blacks (who might well have been a majority of the population).It was no surprise, then, that the Ku Klux Klan proved to be a popular organization among South Carolina whites, who believed that terrorism might succeed in restoring white domination and black subordination.

An heroic US attorney made valiant efforts to prosecute the Klan, but a major point of the book is that there were simply too many defendants and too few resources.The Grant Administration ultimately proved unwilling to pay the price required truly to change the vicious regime of racial oppression.

I will leave it up to readers to make analogies to contemporary events.But I cannot recommend this book high enough, both for its historical analysis and its (unintended) resonance with regard to current events.

Sanford Levinson
University of Texas Law School

An Informative Book Ruined By Author's Jaundiced View
Mr. Williams attacks southern whites from the very first chapter. While I totally agree that the acts perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan were vicious and animal-like, the view they held was NOT held by all southern white people. Although many of these men were sentenced to jail and had to pay fines, the author leaves you with the impression that the trials were a joke and the U.S. government was as racist as the klansmen that commited the crimes. The whipping and beating of innocent people is always an outrage, but I have yet to associate these acts as being indicative of the "Southern-style" way of getting even (as the Mr. Williams states several times). Although this book is one in a series which purports to explore "the ways in which law has affected the development of the United States and in turn the ways the history of the South has affected the development of American law", it is seems to be nothing more than an attack upon southern white people (white males in particular) and the southern way of life. It would appear that he would like to have seen all white people in South Carolina in 1871 lined up and shot, whether they were a member of the klan or not. I hate to rate a book this low, but in this case it is warranted. ... Read more

Product Description
James Donovan takes a comprehensive approach to the history of the jury in modern France by investigating the legal, political, sociocultural, and intellectual aspects of jury trial from the Revolution through the twentieth century. He demonstrates that these juries, through their decisions, helped shape reform of the nation's criminal justice system.&9;
&9;
From their introduction in 1791 as an expression of the sovereignty of the people through the early 1900s, argues Donovan, juries often acted against the wishes of the political and judicial authorities, despite repeated governmental attempts to manipulate their composition. High acquittal rates for both political and nonpolitical crimes were in part due to juror resistance to the harsh and rigid punishments imposed by the Napoleonic Penal Code, Donovan explains.
&9;
&9;
&9;
... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
The rediscovery of Roman law and the emergence of classical canon law around AD 1100 marked the beginnings of the civil law tradition in Europe. Between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries, a highly sophisticated legal science of a truly European dimension was developed. Since then the different European States have developed their own national legal systems, but with the exception of England and Ireland they are all heirs to this tradition of the ius commune. This historical introduction to the civil law tradition, from its original Roman roots to the present day, considers the political and cultural context of Europe's legal history. Political, diplomatic and constitutional developments are discussed, and the impacts of major cultural movements, such as scholasticism, humanism, the Enlightenment and Romanticism, on law and jurisprudence are highlighted. This contextual approach makes for a fascinating story, accessible to any reader regardless of legal or historical background. ... Read more

Product Description
This book describes the historical and legal experiences of Americans of Asian ancestry who began to come to the United States in the mid-19th century. Like all immigrants in America, they arrived with hopes of making a better life and home in a free country. Instead, Asian-Americans have been mistreated and discriminated against by their fellow Americans--even by Congress and the Supreme Court, which should have made and judged laws without prejudice. This study examines the way immigration and naturalization laws were unfairly administered against Asian immigrants and throws light on a less than admirable period of American legal history. It will be of great interest to scholars in Asian American studies, legal history, and American history. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
On the basis of ten concrete examples the author shows by what process and for what historical reasons continental law and common law have come to be so different. In so doing van Caenegem provides a historical introduction to continental law understandable to readers familiar with the common law, and vice-versa. This study is derived from the professor's lectures at Cambridge in 1984-85, in which lawyers from Europe, Great Britain and the United States participated. Judges, Legislators and Professors does not follow the traditional path of describing the development of ideas, but tries a new approach by interpreting legal history as, to a large extent, EEthe result of a power struggle. ... Read more

Product Description
The Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott decision denied citizenship to African Americans and enabled slavery's westward expansion. It has long stood as a grievous instance of justice perverted by sectional politics. Austin Allen finds that the outcome of Dred Scott hinged not on a single issue--slavery--but on a web of assumptions, agendas, and commitments held collectively and individually by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney and his colleagues.

Allen carefully tracks arguments made by Taney Court justices in more than 1,600 reported cases in the two decades prior to Dred Scott and in its immediate aftermath. By showing us the political, professional, ideological, and institutional contexts in which the Taney Court worked, Allen reveals that Dred Scott was not simply a victory for the Court's prosouthern faction. It was instead an outgrowth of Jacksonian jurisprudence, an intellectual system that charged the Court with protecting slavery, preserving both federal power and state sovereignty, promoting economic development, and securing the legal foundations of an emerging corporate order--all at the same time. Here is a wealth of new insight into the internal dynamics of the Taney Court and the origins of its most infamous decision.

... Read more

Product Description
First published in hardback in April 2003, this is the first book that directly addresses the cultural history of the legal profession.An international team of scholars canvasses wide-ranging issues concerning the culture of the legal profession and the wider cultural significance of lawyers, including consideration of the relation to cultural processes of state formation and colonisation.The essays describe and analyse significant aspects of the cultural history of the legal profession in England, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and Finland.The book seeks to understand the complex ways in which lawyers were imaginatively and institutionally constructed, and their larger cultural significance.It illustrates both the diversity and the potential of a cultural approach to lawyers in history. 'Wesley Pue and David Sugarman have produced a fascinating volume of essays written from various perspectives under the rubric of cultural histories. I...want to present a sense of the richness of the essays in this volume.Lawyers and Vampires is a very provocative volume, and it will appeal to many political scientists who are using multiple methods and multidisciplinary approaches in their own work.' Laura J. Hatcher, The Law and Politics Book Review,November 2003 ... Read more

Product Description
When it adopted a new constitution in 1969, the Seminole Nation was the first of the Five Tribes in Oklahoma to formally reorganize its government. In the face of an American legal system that sought either to destroy its nationhood or to impede its self-government, the Seminole Nation tenaciously retained its internal autonomy, cultural vitality, and economic subsistence. Here, L. Susan Work draws on her experience as a tribal attorney to present the first legal history of the twentieth-century Seminole Nation.

Work traces the Seminoles' story from their removal to Indian Territory from Florida in the late nineteenth century to the new challenges of the twenty-first century. She also places the history of the Seminole Nation within the context of general Indian law and policy, thereby revealing common threads in the legal struggles and achievements of the Five Tribes, including their evolving relationships with both federal and state governments.

As Work amply demonstrates, the history of the Seminole Nation is one of survival and rebirth. It is a dramatic story of an Indian nation overcoming formidable obstacles to move forward into the twenty-first century as a thriving sovereign nation. ... Read more

Product Description
Focusing primarily on the exclusion of the Chinese, Lucy Salyer analyzes the popular and legal debates surrounding immigration law and its enforcement during the height of nativist sentiment in the early twentieth century. She argues that the struggles between Chinese immigrants, U.S. government officials, and the lower federal courts that took place around the turn of the century established fundamental principles that continue to dominate immigration law today and make it unique among branches of American law. By establishing the centrality of the Chinese to immigration policy, Salyer also integrates the history of Asian immigrants on the West Coast with that of European immigrants in the East.

Salyer demonstrates that Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans mounted sophisticated and often-successful legal challenges to the enforcement of exclusionary immigration policies. Ironically, their persistent litigation contributed to the development of legal doctrines that gave the Bureau of Immigration increasing power to counteract resistance. Indeed, by 1924, immigration law had begun to diverge from constitutional norms, and the Bureau of Immigration had emerged as an exceptionally powerful organization, free from many of the constraints imposed upon other government agencies. ... Read more

Product Description
Wael B. Hallaq is already established as one of the most eminent scholars in the field of Islamic law. In his latest book, he traces the history of Islamic legal theory from its beginnings until the modern period. The book is the first of its kind in organization, approach to the subject, and critical apparatus, and as such will be an essential tool for the understanding of Islamic legal theory in particular and Islamic law in general. Its accessibility of language and style guarantees it a readership among students and scholars, as well as anyone interested in Islam and its evolution. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A good book for specialists
This is a slow and arduous book, even for someone who knows Arabic and has a basic knowledge of the shari'a and fiqh. A better place for the beginning scholar is Bernard Weiss' book, The Spirit of Islamic Law.

The beginning chapters wherein the method of Islamic jurisprudence is outlined are helpful, the middle section which treats primarily the thought of medieval scholar Shatibi will only be of interest to specialists.

Fortunately, the final chapters provide an engagin and interesting survey of different movements that are afoot, desiring to, in some cases radically, reformulate or reconfigure how the shari'a is discerned and applied to Islamic society today.

Extremely Well Written
In addition to the existing comments:

This book is extremely well written.Although it reads like a textbook, this merely reflects the high level of scholarship the author brings to his subject.The analysis is precise, thorough, and clearly explained.He touches a point once, addresses it completely, and then moves on.An essential read.

A good introduction
This book is more than a History, it basically defines the Usul al-fiqh terms and their development and historically how the concept were being developed, changed and added on. For being about only Sunni Usul al-fikh the scope is limited to a certain sect. Author takes you through early years when he claims no methodology were existed than to Imam Shafii whom he does not put as a founding father in the field of fikh, continues with some quranic concepts like clear/ambigious ayats, foundations of hadits, abbrogation and than into tools of the law, concensus, ijma, qiyas, istihsan, istishab,ijtihad etc. The best part of the book is that author provides examples of each concept for illustration, explains opinions of known mujtehits on the subjects. The book closes with modernist efforts by F.Rahman and especially the author have high regards for Shahrur. The book shows although not in broad acceptance by everybody, the change in methodology from using Quran and Sunna of the Prophet(pbh) to Quran only and socio/politic conditions of the current times and elimination of Ijma or ancient ijtihads.

A Wonderful (and the only) English Work on the Subject
Hallaq's book is excellent in that it manages to capture the essence of each epoch which he covers.Particularly interesting in this book is Hallaq's treatment the birth of usual al-fiqh and its modern interpretations.Reading about the pre-modern zenith of Islamic jurisprudence, which Hallaq completely identifies with the work of al-Shatiby, one becomes totally skeptical to the applicability of Islamic law beyond the realm of religious ritual.However, Hallaq captures well continuity and ingenuity represented in recent reforms achieved by two groups which he will label in the last chapter of his work as the utilitarians and the liberals.

The weakness of Hallaq's work is that its contents are unbalanced.I wish more time was spent on the formation of fiqh and the justification of its existence.Nonetheless, his treatment of these topics is solid.This work can be a little tedious @ times, but usul al-fiqh is itself tedious.In the whole spectrum of the book, one realizes that this itself is part and parcel to the reform occuring today.Excellent work but by no means a decisive study to answer all questions-too short.

Introduction to the Islamic legal theory
It is a great book which summarizes the Islamic jurispedence, not in a whiggish style looking back to the medieval ages, but locating the theological essence of fikh, which is not only a meaningless study on Quranbut a compilation of hundreds of years which has its ortodoxy establishedin 10th century. ... Read more

Product Description
This unique publication outlines the development of legal theory from pre-Roman times through the twentieth century. It relates the evolution of legal theory to parallel developments in political theory and history. This work also discusses the relevant contemporary events in politics, economics, and religion. Each chapter begins with a synopsis of related historical background for the period, going on to discuss how these events are related to political and legal theory as well as how they become an influence on one another. Avoiding the conventional approach of "traditions" or "schools" of thought, this work aims to anchor legal theory to contemporary general history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent primer on theory, more historical than legal.
This is a fabulous book.It begins with early concepts from ancient Greece, lays out the fundamental differences between "natural law" and "the law of the real world," then extends the history of legalistic ideas through the Roman epoc, middle ages, etc.Thebook identifies the bases of difference between the legal systems of thewest and those of communist states, e.g., common law and code law vs.Marxist law.It fully describes the influence of Christianity on westernlegal thinking.There are "plots" and "sub-plots" inthis book that are absolutely fascinating.Finally, it is deliciouslywritten; for those who truely appreciate the english language. ... Read more

Product Description

Judge Andrew Napolitano lays bare the twisted legal history of racism in America.

"All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights" wedded the American soul to the concept that freedom comes from our humanity, not from the government. But American governments legally suspended the free will of blacks for 150 years, and then denied blacks equal protection of the law for another 150 years. How did this happen in America, how were the Constitution and laws of the land twisted so as to institutionalize racism, and how did it or will it end? In a refreshingly candid book, Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom In America, Judge Andrew P. Napolitano takes a no-holds-barred look at the role of the government in the denial of freedoms based on race.

Endorsements

"The best history of the law and race I've ever read. . . Judge Napolitano has written a challenge to anyone who thinks they understand the roots of America's tangled race relations." -- Juan Williams, National Public Radio  

"The Attorney General ignited a firestorm by suggesting that ours was a nation of 'cowards' when it comes to conversations about race. Judge Andrew Napolitano is no coward. His brave and incisive book takes the calamitous, contemptuous Dred Scott decision, which held slaves to be "non-persons," as its starting point. In this sharply written narrative, the Judge shows us how race remains the driving force in almost every aspect of American life, from education to law enforcement. Dred Scott, the person, would have appreciated this graphic and honest appraisal." -- Geraldo Rivera, Fox News Channel  

"Judge Napolitano . . . has written a riveting guide to the tumultuous history of our civil rights journey, coming to a post-racial society." -- Nat Hentoff, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, senior fellow at the Cato Institute  

"Dred Scott's Revenge makes it impossible for the self-anointed 'experts' on race relations to ever accuse the country of being too afraid to have a national discussion on race. Judge Napolitano lays out 150 years of our national experience . . . and places the blame for much of what's wrong squarely at the feet of those responsible: the federal government and politicians whose plans, policies, and programs trashed the Constitution. Compelling and timely reading written for the layman, not lawyers!" -- Glenn Beck, Nationally syndicated radio talk show host; Host, The Glenn Beck Program, Fox News Channel  

"It is said President Obama gave the definitive speech on race; well, Judge Andrew Napolitano has written the definitive book. [He] has broken new ground as he examines the precious link between the words men write about freedom and the true freedom of all men." -- Gov. Michael Steele, Chair, Republican National Committee

Customer Reviews (28)

History of American Race Relations
This is an amazing work by Judge Andrew Napolitano.It offers history you won't get in an American classroom and provides insight into the history behind race relations between blacks and whites in the United States.The information about Abe Lincoln is astonishing and enlightening.

Must Reading for Americans!!!
"Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America" by Andrew Napolitano (2009). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

A review by Rick Hogaboam for Booksneeze as part of their blogger program.

I rarely read books apart from the topics of theology, Biblical study, etc., but chose to delve into a something that has always interested me: America's history of race. I recently read "Black and Tan" by Doug Wilson and learned quite a bit. My esteem fro Abraham Lincoln went down several notches. The history books we used in public school never mentioned his racism and abuse of federal power over the states. I guess that history really is written by the victors.

I have respected Judge Andrew Napolitano's analysis and thought this book would be a fair and judicious presentation of America's history of race in relation to the 3 branches of government.He didn't disappoint. I will offer a review of each chapter, beginning with chapter 1.

Chp. 1- Slavery Comes to the New World

Napolitano notes that slavery was not new to America but was practiced in every major civilization and that the Greeks even thought it was necessary for a prosperous society. At the height of Rome, roughly 1/3 of the population consisted of slaves. Interestingly, Napolitano does note that Roman slaves did participate as equals in certain religious celebrations, no doubt making mention to the Christian faith, "Despite the many horrors that Roman slaves faced, they also participated in family religious worship and seasonal feasts, often socially mingling with their masters and apparent equals" (3).

Here, one can see the powerful influence of the Gospel at work in breaking down barriers. Clearly, the NT speaks to slaves and masters within the institution of slavery. There is much more that can be said about this, which I do not wish to get into in this review, but God clearly intended for both salves and masters to be cognizant of the fact that they both serve a common Master.The NT also makes clear that the worship gathering is not the place to highlight distinctions between rich and poor, slave and free, etc.We all gather as those clothed in Christ, sharing a common faith, Lord, baptism. The NT therefore offers a strong critique of those who thought slaves to be ontologically inferior, devoid of their humanity and dignity. This humanity and dignity was restored through the Christian faith in Roman, even while not mandating the dissolution of the institution of slavery.Clearly, the NT offers a critique of "chattel slavery", where humans are seen as mere objects of possession, subject to whatever the master should request, whether it be sexual or immoral. Scripture always condemns such a system. Indentured servitude, however, would be more like the system that God would allow, a system of voluntary service for wages, much like how folks work for money today. Of course, there would be contracts that would prohibit folks from choosing another master who would pay more. This, too, is modeled in certain aspects of our modern economy.I think that the major sport leagues provide an illustration for slavery.

Let's take Major League Baseball as an example of present-day "slavery". A player is drafted out of high school or college by a team (master) that owns rights to the player. There are many other nuances which I will leave out for brevity sake. More detailed information can be found here. You will notice that there are exceptions to what I present as the general rule. The player will sign a contract with the team. If the player rejects the team's offer, they would reenter the draft the following year and will go through the same process.Once a player signs a contract, they will be under the club's control for 6 years. There are rules that allow the player to be released if they spent so many years in the minors without major league service time. The player is also paid the major league minimum salary for the first 3 years regardless of performance.The club still has control of the player for years 4-6, but the player is now given arbitration eligibility, where their salary may reflect their performance compared with what other players are compensated. The team can retain the player and pay the arbitration amount, negotiate a contract before negotiation, trade the player, or release the player if they think it too expensive.

If there is no binding contract beyond 6 years of MLB service, the player may then become a free agent, where they are finally free to offer their services every club and sign a contract of their desire. Hardly anyone sympathizes with these rich millionaires, decrying that they are slaves and unable to access the free market immediately. It is what it is. in the same way, slavery under the boundaries of Scripture, is much more nuanced that folks wish to admit. God imposes capital punishment for the trading of humans.God never allowed this. I wish that Napolitano spent a bit more time reflecting on Christian interaction with the slavery issues, as it refers the practice in ancient civilizations, but realize his work is redacted.

Napolitano did note in passing that the Reformation came and went and didn't change anything about human bondage.I understand his criticism, but would point out that much good did come from the Reformation. Luther and Calvin ministered to some lowly folks and encouraged them that their labors served God's glory and was their "vocatio dei" (calling of God).Calvin is sometimes mentioned as instrumental in the "Protestant Work Ethic" which has served the free market so well. If anything, I would say that the Reformation helped plant the seeds of finding dignity in work that empowered the growth of the free market and the dissolving of slavery as we once practiced it.

Napolitano cites Columbus as the initiator of the transatlantic slave trade (think of that at the thanksgiving table this year). Columbus rejoiced that "in the name of the Holy Trinity" he could send as many slaves as could be sold (6). Slavery really exploded with the African continent. The Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator obtained the title to the undiscovered African lands from the Pope in 1441 and thus began the African slave trade. Eventually the Dutch, French, and English joined in to this lucrative business. Fast forwarding, Napolitano praises William Wilberforce and his efforts to abolish the slave trade and then brings the reader to the irony of America. The first English colony of Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607 and was proceeded by the arrival of slaves in 1619. The New World was profitable for the slave trade as exports increased. Southern states created laws that would define blacks as slaves, thus establishing the foundation for the growth of our country as cemented on the backs of foreign slaves.

Napolitano notes the irony that is America quite well in the following quote (13):

This is precisely the real irony of American slavery: The colonies brought this ancient evil to the New World, a world that would simultaneously nurture truly revolutionary ideas of individual rights and the antediluvian institution of human bondage at the same time.

Great information often left out of the history books
Recently I finished reading Dred Scott's Revenge by Judge Andrew Napolitano. It is a detailed account of American racism over the past 200 years or so. Judge Napolitano, Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst, takes you through a historical perspective of racism in America, both in the North and South. The journey begins in the days of slavery, and comes all the way to our present day situation.

Being a fan of history, I already knew some of the information presented by the judge. I was familiar with some of the major court cases he presented, such as Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education, but I was unfamiliar with some of the other information he presented. For example, nowhere before this book had I read of the racism of Abraham Lincoln, or seen evidence of racism being perpetuated by the federal government in order to stay in power. Particularly members of the federal government, as Napolitano proves, avoided desegregation or promoted segregation in order to keep votes and stay in office, rather than make decisions that are in line with the Constitution(such as "all men are created equal"). The more I read the more I became angry, and the more I realized how much I didn't know on the subject.

Judge Napolitano covers everything from the sadistic scene surrounding most public lynchings to the unbelievably harsh treatment of African-Americans. Regarding the public lynchings, those who were hanged were done so in front of an eager audience, often times families who made it a festive occasion. After death those in the lynch mob would often cut up the victim's body into pieces and hand them out as souvenirs. Time magazine even noted that the Nazis "did not stoop to selling the souvenirs of Auschwitz."

We are taught in history class the evils of Nazi Germany. Don't get me wrong; the Nazis performed some of the cruelest acts even performed. The amazing thing is that most Americans don't realize that we, yes us, were treating people just as badly in our own country, and just like the Nazis, no one in the country did anything.

Racism caused whites to hang, burn, beat, mutilate, dismember, drag behind wagons, urinate and defecate upon, rape, maime, and murder blacks. Why? For no other reason than the fact that they were black. This practice was permitted, and often encouraged, by government officials for nearly 100 years after the Civil War ended, and nobody did anything to stop it.

I must admit, this book made me absolutely furious. I was astounded to see quotes from presidents such as Lincoln and JFK that were blatantly racist, yet seemed okay in their culture. There are very few things that make me fightin' mad quickly, and racism is one of those things. If ever I encounter white supremacists, I just may do things that put me in jail.

Dred's Scott Revenge by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
[...]. Dred's Scott Revenge is by far the best book I have read pertaining to slavery and racism in America. Judge Napolitano goes above and beyond the institution of slavery. He in facts brings out the ugly truth as to why slavery was allowed to continue for so long. Most reading this book will not like the truth he brings to life, especially when they start to read about Abraham Lincoln. But, as the saying goes, "the truth hurts." If you are interested in reading a different perspective on racism and slavery then this book is for you. But, it must be read with an open mind. If you are biased from the beginning, you will be wasting your time. Happy reading!

Thanks to the Judge for explaining positive law vs natural law
Being familiar with Judge Napolitano from my viewing of Fox News I have a natural bias for him.Of the eight books that I have read on the subject of slavery I would have to say this ranks up near the top in terms of advancing my understanding of this complex issue.Many of the books on the subject covered the history of slavery or the day to day life of slaves or the relationship of the master class to their slaves.Important, for sure, but Napolitano's read should become required reading for any person who wants to render an opinion on the subject.The very idea that our federal government and our forefathers sanctioned slavery is a little inconsistant with country's fundamental premise that "all men are created equal".

Having grown up in a small town in the upper midwest - racism was not part of our vocabulary - the idea that one person could defame another simply because of race was not part of my value system.I first learned of racism when entered the service during the civil rights movements of the 60's.Judge Napolitano laid out the history of slavery adquately but where he did a wonderful job is laying out "positive" law and the very fact that the peculiar institution was sanctioned by federal law.The idea that "separate but equal" was codified within the laws of this country is stunning - really.Thanks to the judge for laying this out in such a clear and understandable way for a layman like myself.

There was one error in fact that was a little troubling.And, while I could be misinformed, it is my understanding the President Jefferson did not in fact free all of his slaves.Thankfully, I did not read this book for any other reason than to understand the relationship of the law to the institution of slavery.I was not looking for an end all on the subject - just a quick snapshot.

I am glad I read a book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. ... Read more

Product Description
In late seventeenth-century New England, the eternal battle between God and Satan was brought into the courtroom. Between January 1692 and May 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts, neighbors turned against neighbors and children against parents with accusations of witchcraft, and nineteen people were hanged for having made pacts with the devil.

Peter Charles Hoffer, a historian long familiar with the Salem witchcraft trials, now reexamines this notorious episode in American history and presents many of its legal details in correct perspective for the first time. He tells the real story of how religious beliefs, superstitions, clan disputes, and Anglo-American law and custom created an epidemic of accusations that resulted in the investigation of nearly two hundred colonists and, for many, the ordeal of trail and incarceration. He also examines life during this crisis period of New England history--a time beset by Indian wars, disease, severe weather, and challenges to Puritan hegemony--to show how an atmosphere of paranoia contributed to this outbreak of persecution.

Hoffer examines every aspect of this history, from accusations to grand jury investigations to the conduct of the trials themselves. He shows how rights we take for granted today--such as rules of evidence and a defendant's right to legal counsel--did not exist in colonial times, and he demonstrates how these cases relate to current instances of children accusing adults of abuse.

The Salem Witchcraft Trials, a concise history written expressly for students and general readers, contains much new material not found in the author's earlier work. It sheds important light on the period and shows that our horror of these infamous proceedings must be tempered with sympathy for a people who gave in to panic in the face of a harsh and desolate existence.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Awesome book! Very interesting. Love it!
This is a fantastic book for the history of witch craft enthusiast. I loved it and learned a lot that I didn't already know. ... Read more

Product Description
A brief history of the principal English institutions and doctrines. Topics examined include law and custom in early Britain, the origins of common law, the judiciary and various courts, trial by jury, laws affecting property, and laws concerning marriage and divorce, nuisance, tort and defamation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding Work
I don't understand the other reviewer's rating for this book.Even if he got the first edition by mistake rather than the 4th, it too was astonishingly good and deserved 5 stars.Frankly, this is the only comprehensive single volume history of the English common law that is fully up-to-date.Professor Baker is incredibly skilled at summarizing a complex or controversial matter in a paragraph or a page (which for students does require close reading).His writing is clear and easy to comprehend.The sourcebook that he and Professor Milsom edited is a valuable supplement to this text, but not required.Some lawyers really like Plucknett's Concise History of the Common Law, which is very good, but it's 50 years out of date.

Beware -- this is not the current version!
The information above suggests that this book is the 4th ed. from 2002.As of this writing, there's one used copy available.Note that the bookseller says that one was printed in 1971.That would make this the 1st ed.The new version of this book is available elsewhere on Amazon. ... Read more