BLACKSTONE’S COMMENTARIES
A series of lectures delivered by the English jurist
SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE at Oxford in 1753 and
published as Commentaries on the Laws of England
in four volumes between 1765 and 1769,
which systematized and clarified the amorphous
body of ENGLISH LAW.
The Commentaries are the first attempt to
state the entire corpus of the COMMON LAW.
They were acclaimed internationally and their
precepts were applied to the study and PRACTICE
OF LAW in England and the United States. They
exerted a tremendous influence on the American
bar, both because of their intrinsic value and
because they were the only treatises readily
available during that period of U.S. history. The
Commentaries were the primary reference tools
for lawyers and judges until the nineteenth century
because the appellate courts in America did
not regularly submit their opinions for publication
in bound volumes. Although there were
court reporters, their records of decisions were
incomplete and sporadic; and few attorneys
could afford a comprehensive library.
Since the common law of England was
incorporated into the legal systems of the
colonies, Blackstone’s summaries rendered the
legal system accessible to the entire educated
class of the colonies. Dissatisfaction with the
common-law restrictions on FREEDOM OF
SPEECH and the press was an important aspect
of the burgeoning resentment of English rule;
and the knowledge and intellectual stimulation
provided by Blackstone thereby played a role in
causing the American Revolution. Blackstone’s
books, which were periodically updated by
American editors, constituted a major source of
law for approximately fifty years after the American
Revolution.
The Commentaries are viewed as the most
comprehensive summary of the entire body of
English law ever compiled by a single author.
Their clarity, sophistication, and formality have
caused them to be highly regarded.While studying
to be a lawyer, ABRAHAM LINCOLN reportedly
read Blackstone by candlelight.
Blackstone did have detractors, however,
most notably THOMAS JEFFERSON and JEREMY
BENTHAM, the English Utilitarian philosopher.
Jefferson believed that Blackstone and his followers
were “Tories” and that he was a negative influence on America in the sense that more
attention needed to be devoted to “whiggism” or
“republicanism.” Bentham criticized Blackstone
for his perception that English law needed no
improvement and for his imprecise analysis of
the historical and social factors underlying systems
of justice.
Although the Commentaries might seem
antiquated by current standards, Blackstone’s
work represented a tremendous advance in the
study of law and played a significant role in the
development of the American legal system.
