ISBN : 9780190850487
After concluding that the mid-eighteenth-century colonial legal system usually functioned effectively, this book focuses on constitutional events leading to the American Revolution, showing how lawyers used ideology in the interests of their clients and became revolutionary leaders. Ideology thus served to protect institutional structures and socio-economic interests.
Introduction
Chapter 1: Common Law Constitutionalism
Chapter 2: Localist Constitutionalism
Chapter 3: Uncontested Legal Practices
Chapter 4: The Well-Functioning Empire of the Mid-Eighteenth Century
Chapter 5: Government Failure in Two Colonies
Chapter 6: Weakening the Bonds of Empire
Chapter 7: Testing the Bonds of Empire
Chapter 8: Terminating the Ties of Empire
Chapter 9: Conclusion: Legal and Constitutional Legacies
