E Pluribus Unum —— How the Common Law Helped Unify and Liberate Colonial America, 1607-1776

The author has written extensively on how the common law functioned within the American colonies prior to the Revolution. He did this most extensively in his four-volume "The Common Law in Colonial America." This book rests upon the research contained in those volumes--but in a more compact fashion. Basically the author argues that while the common law did not cause the revolution, it helped to bring it about. It did this by offering a common training experience, introducing common conceptual approaches, and using common language and argumentative approaches. The colonial lawyers became, in effect, members of the same club and could work together more easily in opposing the British. To support his argument, the author discusses how the common law operated in various capacities in a number of the colonies. He begins with the 1607-1660 period of the initial colonies and traces developments up to the Revolution itself. Maryland and Virginia were effective models for the other colonies because their procedures and legal concepts were the most advanced. He looks at topics in the colonies including land law, slavery, judicial processes, debt procedures, Puritanism and the law, legal training and criminal procedure. The crown placed heavy reliance on using the common law as an inexpensive way to govern the colonial governments. He also includes an interesting discussion of how the common law displaced Dutch law in New York, and the techniques whereby a professional legal organization developed. The book runs some 266 jam-packed pages, including notes and bibliography. And this is where the problem emerges: there is so much information, covering so many colonies, over a large number of years, that I found it difficult to keep everything organized and separate. He has in fact compressed much of his four-volume study into this book and it can be overwhelming. On the other hand, if you are desirous of learning about how the common law functioned as to particular topics or colonies, then all this detail is manna from heaven. One does not have to be fixated on his overall theory to benefit greatly from the book. The fact that the author discusses fascinating topics as law and religion, colonial regulations, the evolution of the jury system, and the reach of criminal law kept my level of interest high, despite the sometimes mind-numbing detail. In addition, the author discusses how the common law helped weaken the bonds of empire. So this is heavily concentrated information which paints a comprehensive view of what was going on with the common law during the colonial period. Just be prepared for an onslaught of detailed information and expect to have to organize it .The author's thesis and the historical development of the colonial common law are both important reasons to read this volume if you have any interest in colonial common law.