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PartOne
TheUnitedStatesisatonceaverynewnationandaveryoldnation.Itisanewnationcomparedwithmanyothercountries,anditisnew,too,inthesensethatitisconstantlybeingrenewedbytheadditionofnewelementsofpopulationandofnewStates.Butinothersensesitisold.Itistheoldestofthe"
new"
nations--thefirstonetobemadeoutofanOldWorldcolony.Ithastheoldestwrittenconstitution,theoldestcontinuousfederalsystem,andtheoldestpracticeofself-governmentofanynation.
OneofthemostinterestingfeaturesofAmericansyouthisthatthewholeofitshistorybelongsintheperiodsincetheinventionoftheprintingpress.Thewholeofitshistoryis,therefore,recorded:
indeed,itissafetosaythatnoothermajornationhassocomprehensivearecordofitshistoryashastheUnitedStates,foreventssuchasthosethatarelostinthelegendarypastofItalyorFranceorEnglandarepartoftheprintedrecordoftheUnitedStates.AndtheAmericanrecordisnotonlycomprehensive;
itisimmense.ItembracesnotonlytherecordofthecolonialeraandoftheNationsince1776,butofthepresentfiftyStatesaswell,andtheintricatenetworkofrelationshipsbetweenStatesandNation.Thus,totakeaveryelementaryexample,thereportsoftheUnitedStatesSupremeCourtfillsome350volumes,andthereportsofsomeStatesarealmostequallyvoluminous:
thereaderwhowantstotracethehistoryoflawinAmericaisconfrontedwithover5,000stoutvolumesoflegalcases.
Noonedocument,nohandfulofdocuments,canproperlybesaidtorevealthecharacterofapeopleoroftheirgovernment.Butwhenhundredsandthousandsofdocumentsstrikeaconsistentnote,overmorethanahundredyears,wehavearighttosaythatisthekeynote.Whenhundredsandthousandsofdocumentsaddressthemselvesinthesameways,tothesameoverarchingproblems,wehavearighttoreadfromthemcertainconclusionswhichwecancallnationalcharacteristics.
PartTwo
TheAmericanlegalsystem,liketheEnglish,ismethodologicallymainlyacaselawsystem.Mostfieldsofprivatelawstillconsistprimarilyofcaselawandtheextensiveandsteadilygrowingstatutorylawcontinuestobesubjecttobindinginterpretationthroughcaselaw.KnowledgeofthecaselawmethodaswellasofthetechniqueofworkingwithcaselawthereforeisofcentralimportanceforanunderstandingofAmericanlawandlegalmethodology.
TheCommonLawishistoricallythecommongenerallaw--withsupremacyoverlocallaw--whichwasdecreedbytheitinerantjudgesoftheEnglishroyalcourt.Theenforcementofaclaimpresupposedtheexistenceofaspecialformofaction,awrit,withtheresultthattheoriginalcommonlawrepresentedasystemof"
actions"
similartothatofclassicalRomanlaw.Ifawritexisted(in1227)aclaimcouldbeenforced;
therewasnorecourseforaclaimwithoutawrit,theclaimdidnotexist.Thissystembecameinflexiblewhenthe"
ProvisionsofOxford"
(1258)prohibitedthecreationofnewwrits,exceptfortheflexibilitywhichthe"
writuponthecase"
allowedandwhichlaterledtothedevelopmentofcontractandtortlaw.
Thenarrowlimitsoftheformsofactionandthelimitedrecoursetheyprovidedledtothedevelopmentofequitylawandequitycaselaw."
Equity"
initsgeneralmeaningofdoing"
equity"
decidingexaequoetbono,wasfirstgrantedbytheKing,andlaterbyhisChancelloras"
keeperoftheKing'
sconscience"
toaffordreliefinhardshipcases.Inthefifteenthcentury,however,equitylawandequitycaselawdevelopedintoanindependentlegalsystemandjudiciary(CourtofChancery)whichcompetedwiththeordinarycommonlawcourts.Itsrulesandmaximsbecamefixedand,toadegree,inflexibleasinanylegalsystem.Specialcharacteristicsofequitylawinclude:
reliefintheformofspecificperformance(incontrasttothecommonlawawardofcompensatorydamages),theinjunction(atemporaryorfinalordertodoornottodoaspecificact),thedevelopmentofsocalledmaximsofequitylawwhichpermeatedtheentirelegalsystemandinmanycasesexplaintheoriginofmodernlegalconcepts.However,equitablereliefregularlywilllieonlywhenthecommonlawreliefisinadequate.Forinstance,specificperformanceforthepurchaseofrealpropertywillbegrantedbecausecommonlawdamagesaredeemedtobeinadequatesincetheycannotcompensatethebuyerinviewoftheuniquenessattributedtorealproperty.
Asthecommonlaw,equitylawbecamepartofAmericanlaweitherthroughjudicialacceptanceorthroughexpressstatutoryprovision.Today,bothlegalsystemshavebeenmergedinmanyAmericanjurisdictions(beginningwithNewYorkin1848),withtheresultthatthereisonlyoneformofcivilsuitinthesejurisdictionsaswellasinfederalpractice.OnlyfewSt