Tucker's Blackstone Study Group

We will be reading and discussing, over the next 2-3 years, the volumes of Blackstone's Commentary as revised for use in Virginia by Tucker (1803 edition). All texts will be available online. We will follow, to direct the discussion, the study questions of Barron Field, An Analysis of Blackstone's Commentaries On the Laws of England (1822), which does not exactly follow
Tucker, but should be close enough. We will cover about one chapter per week, and each chapter has about 20 study questions. I will try to post these week in advance, but please do not answer past the next day (with free discussion on any topic of interest for weekends). The advance posting is to permit those who need to schedule their time some advance warning.

At the appropriate time, we will discussion the U.S. Articles of Confederation, Constitution, Federalist papers, and similar topics -- how much of a sidebar is not yet determined. We may start a second discussion group at that point.

In addition, the following texts will be subject to discussion, with appropriate passages highlighted at the appropriate time:-- so really you can drop in at any point, read the questions, follow the links, and go for it.

Required Texts:

Tucker's Blackstone (1803), Commentaries on the Laws of England
http://www.constitution.org/tb/tb-0000.htm

James Wilson, Lectures on Law
http://www.constitution.org/jwilson/jwilson.htm

Zane, Story of Law
http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/HTML.php?recordID=0027

Zane, Five Ages of the Bench and Bar of England
http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/HTML.php?recordID=0027#hd_lf027.head.036

Coulbourn, Lamp of Experience
http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/HTML.php?recordID=0009

Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (2 parts)
http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Author.php?recordID=0136

Grotius, On the Laws of War and Peace
http://www.constitution.org/gro/djbp.htm

Reference:

SP Scott, Roman Law, preface and extracts
http://www.constitution.org/sps/sps.htm
in the Liberty Library: http://www.constitution.org/liberlib.htm

Benjamin D'Ooge, Cicero Select Orations

sections on the Roman Antiquities, Roman magistracy
and constitution under the Republic in the introduction

http://www.textkit.com/learn/ID/55/author_id/13/ (PDF)

Filmer, Patriarchia
Locke, 1st and 2nd Treatise of Government

Beverly, History of Virginia, in Four Parts
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1001
from: http://www.virtualjamestown.org/fhaccounts_date.html
Bolingbroke, various writings
http://www.efm.bris.ac.uk/het/bolingbroke/bolinbib.htm
Blackstone, Analysis of the Law
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/blackstone/ale1762.htm
Hume, History of England
http://oll.libertyfund.org/ToC/0011.php

State papers of the United States
Federalist Papers
Anti-Federalist Papers
Calhoun, Disquisitions etc.

Harold Laski, Studies in the Problem of Sovereignty

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Book I, Part First, 'Of the Study, Nature, and Extent of the Laws

Section 1 Of the Study of the Law

Week 3- Section 2 Of the Nature of Laws in General
Start Wilson (9 chapters)

Week 2- Section 3 Of the Laws of England
Week 1- Section 4 Of the Countries Subject to the Laws of England

Notes

A - Of Sovereignty and Legislature
B - Of the several Forms of Government
C - Of the Constitution of Virginia
D - Of the Constitution of the United States
E - Of the Unwritten, or Common Law, of England; and its introduction
into, and authority within, the United American States
F - Of the Lex Scripta; or Written Law, of Virginia

Vol II - Book 1st, part 2nd, Of the Rights of persons

Vol III - Book 2nd, part 2nd, Of the Rights of Things
Vol IV - Book 3rd, of Private Wrongs - 27 chapters
Vol V - Book 4th of Public Wrongs - 33 chapters

Syllabus for the first few weeks

Book I, Part First, 'Of the Study, Nature, and Extent of the Laws

Week 1 - Geography and Laws of the British Isles (Vol. I, section 4)
'Of the Countries Subject to the Laws of England' and colonial
status

Week 2 - Of the Laws of England (Vol I., section 3)

Week 3 - Of the Nature of Law in General (Vol I., section 2)