St. George Tucker was one of the most influential legal scholars of the early American republic.

His View of the Constitution of the United States was the first extended, systematic commentary on the Constitution after it had been ratified by the people of the several states and amended by the Bill of Rights. And his Blackstoneā€™s Commentaries, from which the following excerpt originates, was the major treatise on American law in the early 19th century. Lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court of the United States would frequently cite to Tuckerā€™s Blackstone – more often than any other commentator until 1827.

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Michael Boldin