Charters and Excerpts Illustrative of the Norman Period

Essays on English law and the American experience

“…It was during the 1880s and gos that such states as Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama began to restrict the movement of stock and continued to do so until 1903, when they finally established statewide laws. 66 Herd law was also significant in initiating a trend that was accelerated by barbed wire. Barbed wire, which was developed by Joseph F. Glidden of Illinois and other inventors in the i87os, made fencing inexpensive and revolutionized fencing on the great plains.…”

“…64 Pardoned thieves abjured the realm in the thirteenth century 65 Henry Ill's forest charter (1217) imposed it on trespassers in the royal forest who, after temporary imprisonment, failed to produce pledges. 66 Edward I substituted it for the death penalty in the case of a cleric who introduced a papal bull contrary to the interests of the king and kingdom. 67 The second Statute ofWestminister (1285) enforced it as an alternative to the perpetual confinement of kidnappers.…”

“…Although the states may voluntarily permit the federal government to exercise some of their sovereign powers, they will still retain their independent sovereignty. 66 In addition, he argued, quoting Matthew Bacon, that the powers given to the federal government, in order to be consistent with maintaining independent state sovereignty, must be strictly interpreted. 67 Tucker then examined all the "enumerated" powers in the Constitution and concluded that there was no grant of general jurisdiction to either federal or state courts in cases at common law.…”

“…The decline of the open range and return to the English common law rule of fencing marked the end of the frontier on the great plains. [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70]. King explains why the policy of fencing crops in and animals out persisted, despite the repeated protests of planters, until long after the Civil War, and argues that the end of the open range was a part of a profound set of changes that reshaped the social, economic, and political life of the region.…”