Episode Eight: Law in Early Colonial America, Part II

06/20/20 • 30 min

In episode eight we will continue our examination of the law in early Colonial America. First, we will examine the trial and banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony of Anne Hutchinson in 1637. Next, we will discuss one of the strangest episodes in American legal history, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Last, we will take on the codification of law in the 17th century, with a particular emphasis on the 1648 Laws and Liberties of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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Episode Seven: Law in Early Colonial America, Part I

In this episode we will explore the motivations for the founding of colonies in British North America; how their corporate charters served as a template for the organization of their governments; the highly coercive legal system initiated in Jamestown to control the immigrants; the Massachusetts Bay Colony, its founding, leaders, religious beliefs, and governmental structure; a big-picture view of the court structure, and organization throughout the colonies; social services and business regulation throughout the colonies; and the Protestant Ethic and its impact on subsequent American legal history.

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Episode Nine: Amerindians and the Law, Part I

In episode nine we will explore the fascinating but often neglected topic of the influence of Amerindians on the law. We will discuss why the English gained supremacy along the North American coast at the expense of other European powers; how "virgin soil epidemics" devastated indigenous peoples throughout the New World; the starkly different world views concerning the possession of land and concepts of ownership; the Amerindian method of dispute resolution and finally the sad legacy of early military conflicts between the new comers and native peoples.