Published by Primary Source Microfilm

This comprehensive collection is a rich resource for research into legal, social, economic, military and political history.

Sixteen key titles provide information from this period from sources otherwise difficult to obtain. Beginning with the records of March 1628-29, the collection contains all of the legislation enacted by the Massachusetts Bay Colony as well as the litigation that passed through its courts, constituting the first comprehensive body of law to be developed in North America.

Included in this collection are:

• Nathan Dane--the first general treatise on American law; used in the western territories as well as New England
• Giles Jacobs--the standard law dictionary used in 19th century America;
• Massachusetts (Colony)--transcript of the original manuscript records of the colony
• Massachusetts (Colony) Laws, statues, etc.--the first American law book ever published
• Massachusetts. Laws, statutes, etc.--resolves of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; containing resolves establishing banks, turnpikes, canals, corporations, and other private acts
• Massachusetts (Digest)--reported decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the years 1804-1879, with materials drawn from manuscript notes of early attorneys and judges
• Benoni Perham--American precedents of declarations, including important source material on procedural affairs of the early bench and bar, and the forms of writs and rules of the court

Covering the years 1628-1839, Sources of Massachusetts Legal History presents those laws that established precedents for all of the New England colonies as well as many of the western states and territories. Its wealth of original documents and vital source material make this collection a valuable addition to law, business, and academic libraries.

37 reels