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The Common Law

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. · English text · 133,300 words

Holmes surveys the history and principles of common law, showing how legal doctrines develop from practical disputes and changing social needs.

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Background

This major work helped establish a historical and pragmatic approach to legal study in the United States. The supplied extraction was incomplete; this text uses Project Gutenberg eBook 2449.

Reading notes

  • Read examples as evidence for how a doctrine evolved.
  • Distinguish historical explanation from Holmes’s predictions about future law.
  • Notice the tension between abstract rules and practical consequences.

Version note

English text: The Common Law, Project Gutenberg eBook 2449. The supplied anthology extraction was incomplete and has been replaced with this public-domain edition.