In a Defiant Stance: The Conditions of Law in Massachusetts Bay, the Irish Comparison, and the Coming of the American RevolutionThe minimum of violence accompanying the success of the American Revolution resulted in large part, argues this book, from the conditions of law the British allowed in the American colonies. By contrast, Ireland's struggle for independence was prolonged, bloody, and bitter largely because of the repressive conditions of law imposed by Britain. Examining the most rebellious American colony, Massachusetts Bay, Professor Reid finds that law was locally controlled while imperial law was almost nonexistent as an influence on the daily lives of individuals. In Ireland the same English common law, because of imperial control of legal machinery, produced an opposite result. The Irish were forced to resort to secret, underground violence. The author examines various Massachusetts Bay institutions to show the consequences of whig party control, in contrast to the situation in 18th-century Ireland. A general conclusion is that law, the conditions of positive law, and the matter of who controls the law may have more significant effects on the course of events than is generally assumed. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 27
... defendants ' conduct had been lawful or was not answerable to a writ of trespass , but such would be the court's law . The jurors could adopt a different law and the law they applied became the " law , " at least for the case at bar ...
... defendant , if a tory was returned , the whig plaintiff could not remove him by challenge as no challenges were allowed in civil cases . While we cannot guess what the chances were that a tory could be on a Suffolk jury , it must be ...
... defendant , George Cradock , was temporary collector of the port of Boston . Here is a tory's view of that litigation , explained by Governor Francis Bernard to the lords of trade : Mr. Cradock ... as Collector , seized a Vessel of Mr ...
... defendant for enforcing an unpopular statute ; and the vice - admiralty jurisdiction was put on trial . The vice admiralty was " convicted " and in a real sense so was Collector Cradock . The jury returned a verdict " near 600 sterling ...
... defendant's property . All in all , just to lose in superior court , even without paying the judgment , could be costly . A few actions of this type , and Hancock and his fellow merchants could expect the customsmen to proceed more ...
Contents
1 | |
7 | |
17 | |
27 | |
Juries Lie Open to Management The Uses of the Grand Jury | 41 |
In Defiance of the Threats The Criminal Traverse Jury | 55 |
Unless Laws Are Enforced The Legitimacy of Whig Law | 65 |
By Consent of the Council The Import of Local Control | 74 |
Disjointed and Independent of Each Other The Conditions of Imperial Law | 100 |
The Government They Have Set Up The Emergence of Whig Government | 118 |
The Oppression of Centuries The Irish Comparison | 135 |
A Most Dreadful Ruin The Legal Mind of BritishRuled Ireland | 143 |
To Effect a Revolution The Execution of Imperial Law | 150 |
Enforced by Mobs The Rule of Law | 160 |
Notes | 174 |
Acknowledgments | 219 |
The Seeds of Anarchy The Execution of Whig Law | 85 |
The Same Leaven with the People The Legal Mind of the American Whig | 92 |
Index | 220 |