Larson on Treason and the Treatise: English Legal Treatises in the American Revolution and Early National Period @carltonfwlarson @UCDavisLaw

Carlton F. W. Larson, University of California, Davis, School of Law, has published Treason and the Treatise: English Legal Treatises in the American Revolution and Early National Period in Perspectives on the Legal Treatise: Proceedings of the Second Yale Legal Information Symposium. Here is the abstract.

Following independence, American attorneys and judges relied extensively on English legal treatises to interpret the framework of American treason law. These treatises became vital participants in the ongoing national conversation about sovereignty, allegiance, and independence. Despite the significant changes wrought by independence, the American legal establishment relied on an English legal framework—defined almost entirely by treatises—when interpreting the highest crime known to the law.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.