Selected Documents Relating to Law Reform in North Carolina During the Nineteenth Century

“‘A frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty.’ N.C. Const. Art. I, § 35. The rule of law is among these fundamental principles, and our common law heritage is one that is rich and worth preserving. The authors have masterfully chronicled the interplay of the codification movement and our common law heritage in this comprehensive anthology, thereby preserving our rich history for many years to come. Over the years, I have no doubt this contribution will be celebrated alongside other significant works that help us recur to ‘fundamental principles.’”—Paul M. Newby, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of North Carolina

“Lawyers, judges, scholars, and citizens, inside North Carolina and beyond, will find a wealth of insight in this expertly curated collection. The carefully selected and thoughtfully edited documents frame, then trace the efforts to codify the law in North Carolina throughout the long nineteenth century. They narrate the common law’s dominance in the colonial era, the merger of law and equity after the Civil War, the fight to rationalize the law through the nineteenth century, and more. Befitting the expertise developed by the editors’ long tenures at the library of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, this collection will be useful to lawyers and judges. It offers particular aid to legal professionals interested in North Carolina’s adoption of code pleading just after the Civil War. But these documents also tell a richer story of broad interest and enduring importance. They chronicle North Carolinians’ struggle to balance legislatures and courts, expertise and tradition, scientific rationality and common wisdom in their centuries-old pursuit of democracy, order, and liberty.”—Logan E. Sawyer III, J. Alton Hosch Professor of Law and Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Georgia School of Law

“Drawing on an impressively wide range of source materials, this work offers a rich and fascinating record of the historical dialectic among defenders of natural law, common law, positivism, and codified law as it played out in a society struggling over slavery and the nature and scope of democratic liberties. Expertly edited and richly annotated, it is an invaluable resource for scholars of legal history and jurisprudence.”—Gerald J. Postema, Professor Emeritus of Law and Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill