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. |
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... Nonimportation in the South ...... .. 43. Rhode Island Joins Nonimportation . 44. Boycotting the Importers .... 45. The Boston Massacre 948 .952 954 .960 46. Conflict in New York .. ..967 47. Wilkes and America 970 48. Partial Repeal of ...
... nonimportation agreement of radical merchants , is particularly uncertain in the winter of 1769-70 . Although rudimentary nonimportation resolutions begin in Boston in 1764 , they fail to achieve the concerted agreement of the major ...
... nonimportation resolutions ( 1770 ) , 1 : 46 Baird , James : signs nonimportation reso- lutions ( 1770 ) , 1 : 47 ; and boundary of Rockingham co . , Va . , 2 : 113 Baird , John : account of seizure of goods by British , 5 : 660-1 ...
... nonimportation agreements as an alternative to mob violence, broadened participation altered the nature of the movement, and mobs began operating as enforcers of the nonimportation agreements.61 Vocal crowds' visits to the homes of ...
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 |