Law in Colonial Massachusetts, 1630-1800

Download or read book Law in Colonial Massachusetts, 1630-1800 written by Colonial Society of Massachusetts and published by Colonial Society of Massachusetts. This book was released on 1984 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first comprehensive scholarly guide to colonial Massachusetts law and legal records. The first section consists of a general introduction by the editor, Daniel R. Coquillette, and eleven papers, including contributions by most of the leading scholars in the field. These relate to every major chronological period and include substantial new research as to the eariest practices in New England. Many of these papers illustrate the impact of new methodologies and new attitudes toward the scope of legal history, encompassing not only traditional doctrinal studies, but also the use of logal sources to explore problems of social control and coercion and to describe more accurately the quality of life among all classes in the Bay Colony.