Commentaries on American Law

Chancellor James Kent (1826)

The first major American legal treatise, covering constitutional law, international law, property, and personal rights.

Significance

The American counterpart to Blackstone. Shaped early American jurisprudence and legal education for decades.

Selected Excerpt

The law of nations is a part of the municipal law of the United States, and is to be ascertained and administered in the ordinary course of legal proceedings. The right of personal security consists in a person's legal and uninterrupted enjoyment of his life, his limbs, his body, his health, and his reputation.

propertycivil-rights

This text is in the public domain. Original publication: 1826.