Blackstone's Commentaries: With Notes of Reference to the Constitution and Laws, of the Federal Government of the United States, and of the Commonwealth of Virginia : In Five

5 vols. Originally published: Philadelphia: William Young Birch and Abraham Small, 1803. The American Blackstone. A monumental work of continuing relevance,
this reprint edition is prefaced by a new critical introduction
by Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy, Albany Law School
and David Cobin
Professor, Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul Minnesota
Tucker s Blackstone is a key resource for understanding how Americans viewed
English common law in the years following the adoption of the Constitution
and the Bill of Rights. Based on his lectures at the College of William and
Mary, Tucker interprets Blackstone s often antidemocratic viewpoint in an
American context. A strong proponent of the First Amendment, he elaborates
a theory of free speech that is more expansive than in the English tradition.
More recently, Tucker s Blackstone has been cited in numerous constitutional
cases by the U.S. Supreme Court relating to original intent. Reprint of the
rare sole edition.