Law Commons^™

The Political Use Of Private Benevolence: The Statute Of Charitable Uses, James J. Fishman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article examines the circumstances that led to the passage of the Statute of Charitable Uses of 1601, whose preamble unintentionally created a definition charity that resonates in the law today. The Statute was part of a legislative package of poor laws passed by Parliament to deal with an economic and political crisis that threatened the Tudor regime. The Statute’s primary purpose was to provide a mechanism to make trustees accountable for the appropriate administration of charitable assets, which in turn would encourage increased private charity for the relief of poverty, lessoning the tax burden of poor relief. Certain charitable …

Regulating The Poor And Encouraging Charity In Times Of Crisis: The Poor Laws And The Statute Of Charitable Uses, James J. Fishman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

National crises such as September 11th and Hurricane Katrina resulted in an unprecedented outpouring of charitable generosity by Americans, which was encouraged by the government through tax incentives. This paper examines an earlier period of crisis, Tudor England (1485-1603), where the state encouraged philanthropy as a tool of social and political policy. Certain charitable activities were favored and others disadvantaged to spur private sector resources to resolve public problems.

The article discusses the evolution of the laws regulating the poor, which culminated in the Poor Law Legislation of 1601, a process that developed attitudes toward the poor and concepts of …

Joseph Baxendale, James J. Fishman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The defendant in the great case of Hadley v. Baxendale is Joseph Baxendale, managing partner of Pickford and Co., the common carrier that delayed the delivery of the Hadley's shaft. Baxendale was named the defendant, because Pickfords was a partnership and did not incorporate until 1901. Joseph Baxendale was born in 1785, the son of a Lancastershire surgeon. In 1806, he moved to London, where he worked for a wholesale linen draper. Later, he became a partner in that firm, and developed the managerial and accounting skills that would serve him so well at Pickfords.

Ladies In Red: Learning From America's First Female Bankrupts, Marie Stefanini Newman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Several years ago, the Honorable Joyce Bihary, a bankruptcy judge in Atlanta, Georgia, asked me3 why our country's first bankruptcy law specifically referred to debtors using “he” or “she” rather than a gender-neutral noun (such as “bankrupts”) or the male possessive pronoun “he.” Implicitly, she was also asking whether there were any women debtors under our early bankruptcy laws. Although I had read the Bankruptcy Act of 1800 more than once, I did not recollect its use of these gender-inclusive pronouns. Nor did I know why the Act employed them. Despite having given considerable thought to contemporary women in debt, …

A Sect Apart: A History Of The Legal Troubles Of The Shakers, Ralph Michael Stein

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article explores the Shaker experience in nineteenth century America, particularly their relationship to legislative bodies and courts and analyzes the reasons underlying the persistent, selective, official persecution of this group.

The Path Of Legal Education From Edward I To Langdell: A History Of Insular Reaction, Ralph Michael Stein

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article presents an analytic overview of key aspects in the history of legal education in England and the United States from the time of Edward I to the end of the last century. The response of lawyers and legal educators to the perceived need to protect the profession from a variety of ills and plagues is explored. The development of a sense of professionalism by those engaged in the teaching of law, a sense of professionalism that was reactive to public perception about lawyers as well as to academic dismay at the roles played by lawyers, will be explored …