Constitutional History of the American Revolution, Volume IV: The Authority of Law (v. 4)

This is the first comprehensive study of the constitutionality of the Parliamentary legislation cited by the American Continental Congress as a justification for its rebellion against Great Britain in 1776. The content and purpose of that legislation is well known to historians, but here John Phillip Reid places it in the context of eighteenth-century constitutional doctrine and discusses its legality in terms of the intellectual premises of eighteenth-century Anglo-American legal values. The Authority of Law is the last of a four-volume work, preceded by The Authority to Tax, The Authority of Rights, and The Authority to Legislate . In these previous volumes, Reid argued that there would have been no rebellion had taxation been the only constitutional topic of controversy, that issues of rights actually played a larger role in the drafting of state and federal constitutions than they did in instigating a rebellion, and that the American colonists finally took to the battlefield against the British because of statutes that forced Americans to either concede the authority to legislate or leave the empire. Expanding on the evidence presented in the first three volumes, The Authority of Law determines the constitutional issues dividing American whigs from British imperialists. Reid summarizes these issues as “the supremacy issue,” “the Glorious Revolution issue,” “the liberty issue,” and the “representation issue.” He then raises a compelling question: why, with so many outstanding lawyers participating in the debate, did no one devise a constitutionally legal way out of the standoff? Reid makes an original suggestion. No constitutional solution was found because the British were more threatened by American legal theory than the Americans were by British theory. British lawyers saw the future of liberty in Great Britain endangered by the American version of constitutional law. Considered as a whole, Reid’s Constitutional History of the American Revolution contributes to an understanding of the central role of legal and constitutional standards, especially concern for rule by law, in the development of the American nation. Annotation "This is the first comprehensive study of the constitutionality of the Parliamentary legislation cited by the American Continental Congress as a justification for its rebellion against Great Britain in 1776. The content and purpose of that legislation is well known to historians, but here John Phillip Reid places it in the context of eighteenth-century constitutional doctrine and discusses its legality in terms of the intellectual premises of eighteenth-century Anglo-American legal values." "The Authority of Law is the last of a four-volume work, preceded by The Authority to Tax, The Authority of Rights, and The Authority to Legislate. In these previous volumes, Reid argued that there would have been no rebellion had taxation been the only constitutional topic of controversy, that issues of rights actually played a larger role in the drafting of state and federal constitutions than they did in instigating a rebellion, and that the American colonists finally took to the battlefield against the British because of statutes that forced Americans to either concede the authority to legislate or leave the empire." "Expanding on the evidence presented in the first three volumes, The Authority of Law determines the constitutional issues dividing American whigs from British imperialists. Reid summarizes these issues as "the supremacy issue," "the Glorious Revolution issue," "the liberty issue," and the "representation issue." He then raises a compelling question: why, with so many outstanding lawyers participating in the debate, did no one devise a constitutionally legal way out of the standoff? Reid makes an original suggestion. No constitutional solution was found because the British were more threatened by American legal theory than the Americans were by British theory. British lawyers saw the future of liberty in Great Britain endangered by the American version of constitutional law." "Considered as a whole, Reid's Constitutional History of the American Revolution contributes to an understanding of the central role of legal and constitutional standards, especially concern for rule by law, in the development of the American nation."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved Brilliantly executed....Reid's central argument is reserved for his contentions about how the American Revolution occurred within the British constitutional framework. Crucial is his assertion that the eighteenth-century British constitution itself was a vital crossroad between the old constitution of 'customary powers, with rights secured as property' and the newer constitution 'of sovereign command and of arbitrary parliamentary supremacy.' The conflict between the two was profound and ultimately irreconcilable as the Americans, with occasional misgivings and uncertainties, sustained the old and Parliament lurched toward the new...This book (has) a compelling intellectual force that deserves the closest scrutiny.' -George M. Curtis III, American Historical Review Frontmatter INTRODUCTION (page 3) CHAPTER 1: THE COERCIVE ACTS (page 9) CHAPTER 2: THE COERCIVE GRIEVANCE (page 27) CHAPTER 3: THE SUPREMACY ISSUE (page 43) CHAPTER 4: THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION ISSUE (page 52) CHAPTER 5: THE LIBERTY ISSUE (page 69) CHAPTER 6: THE REPRESENTATION ISSUE (page 83) CHAPTER 7: REPRESENTATION SOLUTIONS (page 97) CHAPTER 8: INTERMEDIATE SOLUTIONS (page 108) CHAPTER 9: PARLIAMENTARY SOLUTIONS (page 119) CHAPTER 10: "RIGHT," "ACKNOWLEDGMENTS," AND "RENUNCIATION" SOLUTIONS (page 134) CHAPTER 11: PREROGATIVE SOLUTIONS (page 151) CHAPTER 12: CONCLUSION (page 163) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (page 177) SHORT TITLES (page 179) NOTES (page 221) INDEX (page 267) John Phillip Reid addresses the central constitutional issues that divided the American colonists from their English legislators: the authority to tax, the authority to legislate, the security of rights, the nature of law, the foundation of constitutional government in custom and contractarian theory, and the search for a constitutional settlement. It was the exercise of legislation-the subject of this study-that cast the constitutional die for rebellion This work addresses the central constitutional issues that divided the American colonists from their English legislators: the authority to tax, the authority to legislate, the security of rights, the nature of law, and the foundation of constitutional government in custom and contractarian theory. [1] The authority of rights [2] The authority to tax [3] The authority to legislate [4] The authority of law.