"Common law" is the name for legal principals developed by judges. America developed its own system of the common law in the mid-nineteenth century, abandoning the system inherited from England. This book is a comparative study of the development of American law that contrasts the experiences of North and South by a study of Illinois and Virginia, supported by observations from six states. The book has a new comparative focus highlighting the connections between legal development, American political thought, and American political and economic development.