In 1795; the Georgia legislature sold the state’s western lands (present-day Alabama and Mississippi) to four private land companies. A year later; amid revelations of bribery; a newly elected legislature revoked the sale. This book tells the story of how the great Yazoo lands sale gave rise to the 1810 case in which the Supreme Court; under Chief Justice John Marshall; for the first time ruled the action of a state to be in violation of the Constitution; specifically the contract clause.Truly a landmark case; Fletcher v. Peck established judicial review of state legislative proceedings; provided a gloss on the contract clause; and established the preeminent role of the Supreme Court in private law matters. Beneath the case’s dry legal proceedings lay a tangle of speculating mania; corruption; and political rivalry; which Charles Hobson unravels with narrative aplomb. As the scene shifts from the frontier to the courtroom; and from Georgia to New England; the cast of characters includes sharp dealers like Robert Morris; hot-headed politicians like James Jackson; and able counsel like John Quincy Adams; along with; of course; John Marshall himself. The improbably dramatic tale opens a window on land transactions; Indian relations; and the politics of the early nation; thereby revealing how the controversy over the Yazoo lands sale reflected a deeper crisis over the meaning of republicanism. Hobson; a leading scholar of the Marshall Court; lays out the details of the litigation with great clarity even as he presents a longer view of the implications and consequences of Fletcher v. Peck.
#1004139 in Books 2008-09-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x .60 x 6.00l; .80 #File Name: 0700618198256 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This was an essential book to read before tackling On ...By TeamOThis was an essential book to read before tackling On War. It helps to have a basic understanding of Clausewitz' ideas and intentions in advance because his masterpiece is disjointed and unfinished.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy BKMGood analysis-- but there's no beating Clausewitz original words and concepts12 of 15 people found the following review helpful. Scholarly Code BreakingBy Retired ReaderCarl von Clausewitz is a clear and straight forward writer so it must be asked does he really need someone to `decode' him. Well the short answer is yes. As Sumdia points out in this excellent companion to "On War"; Clausewitz presents some extremely complex ideas in his unfinished master work. Further although his prose style is clear; his exposition of his ideas and arguments often is not. As his discussion of the distinction between "absolute war" and "real war" demonstrates. In a related example it is no means clear that weather by "people's war" he means guerilla warfare in support of regular forces or independent guerilla operations or what today is called asymmetrical warfare. As the result Sumida notes; von Clausewitz has been routinely misinterpreted by scholars as well as ordinary readers.In this work Sumida provides summaries of the views of some of the most distinguished critics of "On War" and attempts to show where such criticism is the due to misinterpretation of von Clausewitz. He then proceeds to a careful analysis of what he believes von Clausewitz actually meant explain about the theory and practice of war. In some ways this book is like a collection of extremely good end notes to the first four books of von Clausewitz's works.For this reader the best way to deal with Sumida's expository book is to first read "On War" then read "Decoding Clausewitz"; then reread "On War" using Sumida's book as you would use a set of footnotes. In this respect one can truly treat Sumida as a decoder of what is a difficult; but important body of work.
