Defining America in the Radical 1760s

Defining America in the Radical 1760s
Author: Jude M. Pfister
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2021-09-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476643776

Download Defining America in the Radical 1760s Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The 1760s were a period of great agitation in the American colonies. The policies implemented by the British resulted in an outcry from the Americans that inaugurated the radical ideas leading to the Revolution in 1775. John Dickinson led the way in the "war of ink" between America and Britain, which saw over 1,000 pamphlets and essays written both for and against British policy. King George III, the new British monarch, wrote extensively on the role of Britain in the colonial world and sought to find a middle way between the quickly rising feelings on both sides of the debate. This book tells the story of this radical decade as it occurred in writing, drawing from primary sources and rarely seen exchanges.

The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson

The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson
Author: John Dickinson
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2020-06-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1644531844

Download The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson, vol. 1 inaugurates a multivolume documentary edition that will, for the first time ever, provide the complete collection of everything Dickinson published on public affairs over the course of his life. The documents include essays, articles, broadsides, resolutions, petitions, declarations, constitutions, regulations, legislation, proclamations, songs and odes. Among them are many of the seminal state papers produced by the first national congresses and conventions. Also included are correspondences between Dickinson and some of the key figures of his era. This edition should raise Dickinson to his rightful place among America’s founding fathers, rivaled in reputation only by Benjamin Franklin before 1776. Dickinson was celebrated throughout the colonies, as well as in England and France, as the great American spokesman for liberty, and the documents in this edition evidence his tireless political work and unmatched corpus. Distributed for the University of Delaware Press

John Laurens and the American Revolution

John Laurens and the American Revolution
Author: Gregory D. Massey
Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2016-12-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1611176131

Download John Laurens and the American Revolution Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

An “excellent biography” of General Washington’s aide-de-camp, a daring soldier who advocated freeing slaves who served in the Continental Army (Journal of Military History). Winning a reputation for reckless bravery in a succession of major battles and sieges, John Laurens distinguished himself as one of the most zealous, self-sacrificing participants in the American Revolution. A native of South Carolina and son of Henry Laurens, president of the Continental Congress, John devoted his life to securing American independence. In this comprehensive biography, Gregory D. Massey recounts the young Laurens’s wartime record —a riveting tale in its own right —and finds that even more remarkable than his military escapades were his revolutionary ideas concerning the rights of African Americans. Massey relates Laurens’s desperation to fight for his country once revolution had begun. A law student in England, he joined the war effort in 1777, leaving behind his English wife and an unborn child he would never see. Massey tells of the young officer’s devoted service as General George Washington’s aide-de-camp, interaction with prominent military and political figures, and conspicuous military efforts at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Newport, Charleston, Savannah, and Yorktown. Massey also recounts Laurens’s survival of four battle wounds and six months as a prisoner of war, his controversial diplomatic mission to France, and his close friendship with Alexander Hamilton. Laurens’s death in a minor battle in August 1782 was a tragic loss for the new state and nation. Unlike other prominent southerners, Laurens believed blacks shared a similar nature with whites, and he formulated a plan to free slaves in return for their service in the Continental Army. Massey explores the personal, social, and cultural factors that prompted Laurens to diverge so radically from his peers and to raise vital questions about the role African Americans would play in the new republic. “Insightful and balanced . . . an intriguing account, not only of the Laurens family in particular but, equally important, of the extraordinarily complex relationships generated by the colonial breach with the Mother Country.” —North Carolina Historical Review

The Role of Circuit Courts in the Formation of United States Law in the Early Republic

The Role of Circuit Courts in the Formation of United States Law in the Early Republic
Author: David Lynch
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2018-02-08
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509910867

Download The Role of Circuit Courts in the Formation of United States Law in the Early Republic Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

While scholars have rightly focused on the importance of the landmark opinions of the United States Supreme Court and its Chief Justice, John Marshall, in the rise in influence of the Court in the Early Republic, the crucial role of the circuit courts in the development of a uniform system of federal law across the nation has largely been ignored. This book highlights the contribution of four Associate Justices (Washington, Livingston, Story and Thompson) as presiding judges of their respective circuit courts during the Marshall era, in order to establish that in those early years federal law grew from the 'inferior courts' upwards rather than down from the Supreme Court. It does so after a reading of over 1800 mainly circuit opinions and over 2000 original letters, which reveal the sources of law upon which the justices drew and their efforts through correspondence to achieve consistency across the circuits. The documents examined present insights into momentous social, political and economic issues facing the Union and demonstrate how these justices dealt with them on circuit. Particular attention is paid to the different ways in which each justice contributed to the shaping of United States law on circuit and on the Court and in the case of Justices Livingston and Thompson also during their time on the New York State Supreme Court.

Suspected of Independence

Suspected of Independence
Author: David McKean
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2016-05-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1610392221

Download Suspected of Independence Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

The last signatory to the Declaration of Independence was one of the earliest to sign up for the Revolution: Thomas McKean lived a radical, boisterous, politically intriguing life and was one of the most influential and enduring of America's Founding Fathers. Present at almost all of the signature moments on the road to American nationhood, from the first Continental Congress onward, Thomas McKean was a colonel in the Continental Army; president of the Continental Congress; governor of Pennsylvania; and, perhaps most importantly, chief justice of the new country's most influential state, Pennsylvania, a foundational influence on American law. His life uniquely intersected with the many centers of power in the still-formative country during its most vulnerable years, and shows the degree of uncertainty that characterized newly independent America, unsure of its future or its identity. Thomas McKean knew intimately not only the heroic figures of the Revolutionary era -- George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin -- but also the fascinating characters who fought over the political identity of the new country, such as Caesar Rodney, Francis Hopkinson, and Alexander Dallas. His life reminds us that America's creation was fraught with dangers and strife, backstabbing and bar-brawling, courage and stubbornness. McKean's was an epic ride during utterly momentous times.

The Lawyers Who Made America

The Lawyers Who Made America
Author: Anthony Arlidge
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2017-04-20
Genre: Law
ISBN: 150990638X

Download The Lawyers Who Made America Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

No other nation's creation, both politically and socially, owes such a debt to lawyers as the United States of America. This book traces the story of that creation through the human lives of those who played important parts in it: amongst others, of English lawyers who established the form of the original colonies; of the Founding Fathers, who declared independence and created a Constitution; of Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Justices of the Supreme Court and finally Barack Obama. Even Richard Nixon features, if only as a reminder that even the President is subject to the law. The author combines his wide legal experience and engaging writing style to produce a book that will enthral lawyers and laymen alike, giving perhaps a timely reminder of the importance of the rule of law to American democracy.

From Empire to Revolution

From Empire to Revolution
Author: Greg Brooking
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2024
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0820365963

Download From Empire to Revolution Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

"From Empire to Revolution is the first biography devoted to an in-depth examination of the life and conflicted career of Sir James Wright (1716-1785). Greg Brooking uses Wright's life as a means to better understand the complex struggle for power in both colonial Georgia and the larger British Empire. James Wright lived a transatlantic life, taking advantage of every imperial opportunity afforded him. He earned numerous important government posts and amassed an incredible fortune, totaling over £100,000 sterling. An English-born grandson of Chief Justice Sir Robert Wright, James Wright was raised in Charleston, South Carolina following his father's appointment as that colony's chief justice. Young James served South Carolina in a number of capacities, public and ecclesiastical, prior to his admittance to London's famed Gray's Inn to study law. Most notably, he was appointed South Carolina's attorney general and colonial agent to London prior to his gubernatorial appointment in Georgia in 1761. His long imperial career delicately balanced dual loyalties to Crown and colony and offers a crucial lens on loyalism and the American Revolution that also connects a number of contexts important in recent early American and British scholarship, including imperial and Atlantic history, Indigenous borderlands, race and slavery, and popular politics"--

The Safest Shield

The Safest Shield
Author: Igor Judge
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2015-11-19
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1509901914

Download The Safest Shield Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This selection of lectures, essays and speeches by Lord Judge, nearly all written when he was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, brings together his analysis of a wide range of topics which underpin the administration of justice and the rule of law. Apart from a few personal reflections, the discussion ranges from the development of our constitutional arrangements to matters of continuing constitutional uncertainty, with observations about different aspects of the court process and the discharge of judicial responsibilities. Based on Lord Judge's experience in the law and a deep interest in history, this selection offers sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes amusing, but always stimulating reading, and will provoke thoughtful reflection on and better understanding of the arrangements by which we are governed and the practical application of the rule of law.

A History of the American Bar

A History of the American Bar
Author: Charles Warren
Publisher:
Total Pages: 606
Release: 1911
Genre: Courts
ISBN:

Download A History of the American Bar Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle