Online Table of Contents for the Collected Legal Papers of Daniel Webster

The Papers of Daniel Webster: Legal Papers, Volume 1, The New Hampshire Practice

Ed. Alfred Konefsky and Andrew J. King. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH, 1982.

Table of Contents:

-Foreword: vii

-Acknowledgments: xiii

-Preface: xvii

-Plan of Work: xxi

-Editorial Method: xxiii

-Abbreviations and Symbols: xxv

-Descriptive Symbols: xxv

-Location Symbols: xxv

-Court Abbreviations: xxvi

-Short Titles: xxviii

-Introduction: xxxi

PART ONE: Legal Education in Early Nineteenth-Century New Engalnd

CHAPTER 1: American Legal Education from the Revolution to the Civil War: 3

CHAPTER 2: The Legal Education of Daniel Webster: 9

1. Salisbury, New Hampshire: 9

2. Fryeburg, Maine: 16

3. Return to Salisbury: 19

4. Boston: 32

a. Webster’s Law Diary: 32

b. Correspondence: 45

PART TWO: Legal Practice in Early Nineteenth-Century Rural New Engalnd

CHAPTER 3: Legal Practice in Rural New England: 61

1. Scope of a Rural Practice: 61

2. The New Hampshire Court System: Structure and Procedure: 63

CHAPTER 4: Practical Problems of the Rural Bar: 66

1. Webster’s Entry into Rural Practice: 66

2. Statistical Summary of Webster’ Boscawen Practice: 72

3. The Lawyer’s Network: 75

CHAPTER 5: The Law of Creditor Rights in Postrevolutionary New Hampshire: 82

CHAPTER 6: The Practice of Debt Collection: 89

1. The Web of Credit: 89

a. A Note on Legal Ethics in the Debt Collection Process: 101

2. Negotiating a Settlement: 104

3. The Fragile World of the Rural Entrepreneur: 111

4. Mastering the Legal Machinery: 121

5. Suretyship, Sherriffs, and Statutes of Limitation: 128

6. The Debtor’s Plight: 133

CHAPTER 7: The Practice of Law Broadens: 138

1. Contract Litigation: 138

a. The Lumbering Business: 138

b. Storekeeprs: 153

2. Property Litigation: 157

3. Petitioning the Legislature: 163

CHAPTER 8: Thinking and Writing About Law: The Early Endeavors: 165

CHAPTER 9: From Boscawen to Portsmouth: 179

PART THREE: The Portsmouth Practice

CHAPTER 10: The Scope of the Practice: 185

1. Beginning the Portsmouth Practice: 185

2. Statistical Summary of Webster’s Portsmouth Practice: 194

3. Collecting a Personal Debt: 197

4. The Sheriff in the Debt Collection Process: 201

5. A Member of the Bar: 230

6. Organizing a Partnership: 243

7. Attorney Fees: 246

CHAPTER 11: Procedure and Trial Practice: 260

1. An Outline of Procedural Steps: 260

2. Special Pleading: 264

a. Pleas in Bar: Common Law Defenses: 264

b. Pleas in Bar: Statutory Defenses: 268

c. Pleas in Abatement: 270

3. Litigation: 272

a. Informality and Delay: 272

b. Settlements: 274

c. Depositions: 278

d. Bills of Exception: 285

4. The Posttrial Phase: 286

a. The Problem of Jury Control: 286

b. Writ of Review and Motion to Set Aside a Verdict: 288

c. Petition for New Trial: 289

d. Final Details: 293

CHAPTER 12: Substantive Aspects of Practice: 296

1. Contracts and Commercial Law: 296

a. Introduction: 296

b. Contracts: 298

i. Innkeepers’ Services: 299

ii. Sale of Land: 300

iii. Sale of Goods: 307

c. Bonds: 310

d. Arbitration: 322

i. Pretrial Reference by Oral Agreement: 323

ii. Pretrial Reference by Statute: 324

iii. Trial Reference: 327

e. Partnership and Commerce: 332

2. The Law of Property: 356

a. Introduction: 356

b. Land for Security and Production: 358

i. Mortgage: 358

ii. Improvements and the Action of Trespass for Mesne Profits: 380

iii. Land Titles and Local Taxes: 384

c. Law of Inheritance: 400

i. Probate: 400

ii. Future Interests: 407

3. The Law of Torts: 421

a. Personal Injury: 423

i. Control of Quasi-Public Conduct: 423

ii. Control of Private Conduct: 428

b. Injury to Reputation: 432

4. The Law of the Family: 438

a. Introduction: 438

b. Married Women’s Rights: 439

i. Property: 440

ii. Contract: 450

c. Divorce: 455

d. Dower: 461

e. Children: 468

i. Guardianship: 469

ii. Apprenticeship: 470

5. Masters and Mariners: Maritime Affairs in the Common Law Courts: 472

a. The Master: 473

b. Mariners: 481

i. Wages: 481

ii. Maritime Torts: 482

6. Practice in the Lower Federal Courts: 487

a. Diversity of Citizenship: 488

b. Admiralty Jurisdiction: 494

i. Bottomry Bonds: 494

ii. Customs Regulations: 517

CHAPTER 13: Law and Politics: The Pickering Libel Suit: 530

Index: 543

The Papers of Daniel Webster: Legal Papers, Volume 2: The Boston Practice

Ed. Alfred Konefsky and Andrew J. King. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH, 1983.

Table of Contents:

Foreword: vii

Plan of Work: xii

Editorial Method: xiv

Abbreviations and Symbols: xvi

Descriptive Symbols: xvi

Location Symbols: xvi

Court Abbreviations: xvii

Short Titles: xix

CHAPTER 1: Relocating the Practice of Law: 3

1. Introduction: From Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Boston: 3

a. A Note on the Massachusetts Judicial System: 5

2. The Scope of the Practice: 6

a. Alexander Bliss: 1816-1827: 6

b. Henry Willis Kinsman: 1827-1837: 24

c. John Plummer Healy: 1838-1852: 44

CHAPTER 2: The Elements of Style of Practice: 55

1. Stages in the Trial Process: Pretrial Preparation to Posttrial Motions: United States v. Henry Hatch: 56

2. Courtroom Strategy and the Examination of a Witness: The Oliver Smith Will Case: 83

3. Jury Argument: The Astor Land Case: 95

4. Appellate Argument: Welsh v. Barrett: 115

CHAPTER 3: Attorney Fees: 119

CHAPTER 4: The Spanish Claims Commission: 175

1. Introduction: 175

a. A Brief History of the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819: 175

b. A Brief Explanation of the Treaty Provisions Settling the Claims: 176

2. The Commission Under the Treaty: 177

a. Formal Structure and Personnel: 177

b. Workload, Flow of Business, and Procedural Rules: 179

c. Guiding Legal Principles: 182

d. Informal Realities: 183

i. External Communications: 183

ii. Internal Communications: 196

3. Webster and the Commission: 199

a. The Gathering of Clients: 199

b. The Memorial Stage: 204

c. Examination of Proof: 210

d. Strategies: 214

e. Written Arguments: 222

f. Results: 227

g. Rehearings: 242

h. The Appropriation Bill: 251

i. The Power of Attorney Problem: 253

j. Final Payment: 260

k. Fees: 265

CHAPTER 5: A Lawyer in Congress: 276

1. Legislation: Federal Bankruptcy Law: 276

2. Congressional Ethics: 306

a. Webster and the Bank of the United States: 307

i. Creation of the Relationship: 307

ii. “Our little bill”: 316

iii. Toward Disengagement: 319

b. Foreign Claims: 325

CHAPTER 6: Substantive Aspects of Webster’s Boston Practice: 344

1. Commercial Law: 345

a. Laurason v. Nickerson: 345

b. Ward v. Peirce: 356

2. Contract and Arbitration: Tilden v. Thorndike: 378

3. Marine Insurance: 415

a. Introduction: 415

b. Formation of the Insurance Contract and Warranty: 418

i. Haven v. Holland: 418

ii. Corporate Underwriting: Shepard v. Essex Fire and Marine Insurance Company: 438

c. Jurisdiction and Abandonment: Peele v. Merchants’ Insurance Company: 474

d. Allocation of Loss: 489

i. Ruggles v. General Interest Insurance Company: 489

ii. Jordan v. Warren Insurance Company: 519

4. Banking and the Law: 527

a. Introduction: 527

b. Economic Crime: Private and Public Remedies for Embezzlement: 537

i. Bonding: State Bank v. Welles, executor: 537

ii. The Crime of Embezzlement: Commonwealth v. Wyman: 549

5. Property Law: 564

a. Introduction: 565

b. The Power of Eminent Domain: 566

i. Faneuil Hall Market: 566

ii. City Street Construction: 568

c. Adverse Possession: Drake v. Curtis: 570

6. Federal Equity Jurisdiction and Remedies: 581

a. Introduction: 581

b. Probate: Harvey v. Richards: 584

c. Reconveyance: Otis v. Phinney: 629

d. Problems of Equitable Title: McNeil v. Magee: 644

APPENDIX: 657

INDEX: 661

The Papers of Daniel Webster: Legal Papers, Volume 3: The Federal Practice

Ed. Andrew J. King. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH, 1989

Table of Contents:

PART I:

Foreword: vii

Acknowledgments: xiii

Plan of Work: xiv

Editorial Method: xvi

Abbreviations and Symbols: xviii

Introduction: xxi

CHAPTER 1: The Practice of Law at the Supreme Court Bar: 3

1. Introduction: 3

2. Prize Cases: 5

a. The Grotius: 5

b. The St. Lawrence: 12

CHAPTER 2: Constructing National Power: 17

1. The Contract Clause: Dartmouth College v. Woodward: 17

a. The Controversy Begins: 18

b. The State Decision and the Appeal: 80

c. The Supreme Court Argument: 103

d. The Intervening Year: 175

2. The Supreme Court 1819: 223

a. Dartmouth College v. Woodward: 223

b. Federalism: McCulloch v. Maryland: 231

c. The Dartmouth College Litigation Concludes: 236

3. The Commerce Clause: Gibbons v. Ogden: 255

4. Federal Jurisdiction: Osborn v. Bank of the United States: 291

5. State Insolvency Laws: 297

a. Sturges v. Crowinshield: 297

b. Ogden v. Saunders: 308

CHAPTER 3: The Lawyer in Congress: Judicial Reform: 349

CHAPTER 4: Proprietors of Charles River Bridge v. Proprietors of Warren Bridge: 398

1. Background and the Massachusetts Litigation: 399

2. The First Supreme Court Argument—1831: 419

3. The Intervening Years: 495

4. The Supreme Court Argument—1837: 548

PART II:

CHAPTER 5: Reconstructing National Power: 647

1. Federalism: Bank of the United States v. Primrose (the Alabama Bank Cases): 647

2. The Commerce Clause: 681

a. The License Cases: Thurlow v. Massachusetts

b. The Passenger Cases: Smith v. Turner and Norris v. Boston

3. The Contract Clause and Eminent Domain: 732

a. West River Bridge Company v. Dix: 732

b. Mills v. St. Clair County: 738

4. The American Political Process: Luther v. Borden: 747

5. Steamboats and Admiralty Jurisdiction: 764

a. Steamboat Regulation: 764

b. New Jersey Steam Navigation Company v. Merchants’ Bank of Boston (the Lexington): 772

CHAPTER 6: Law, Technology and Economic Development: 824

1. Patents: 824

a. Litigation in the Lower Federal Courts: Webster and the Boston Manufacturing Company: 825

b. Litigation in the Supreme Court: Grant v. Raymond: 858

c. Litigation under the Statute of 1836: Goodyear v. Day: 873

2. Waterpower: 891

a. Introduction: Tyler v. Wilkinson: 892

b. Mann & Jenkins v. Wilkinson: 893

c. Farnum v. Blackstone Canal Corporation: 918

3. Railroads: 930

CHAPTER 7: Land Title Litigation Before the Supreme Court: 943

1. The Eden Cases

2. Wilkinson v. Leland: 950

3. Land Titles after the Adams-Onis Treaty: 960

a. West Florida: Foster and Elam v. Neilson: 961

b. East Florida: The Forbes and Arredondo Land Grants: 996

4. Land Titles in the West: Wilcox v. Jackson ex dem. McConnel: 1001

5. Van Rensselaer v. Kearney: 1013

6. Gaines v. Relf: 1034

APPENDIX I: Daniel Webster’s Supreme Court Cases: 1045

ADDENDIX II: Daniel Webster’s Reported Lower Federal Court Cases: 1069

INDEX: 1073