In this Book
- Before Eminent Domain: Toward a History of Expropriation of Land for the Common Good
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: The University of North Carolina Press
- Series: Studies in Legal History
summary
In this concise history of expropriation of land for the common good in Europe and North America from medieval times to 1800, Susan Reynolds contextualizes the history of an important legal doctrine regarding the relationship between government and the institution of private property.
Before Eminent Domain concentrates on western Europe and the English colonies in America. As Reynolds argues, expropriation was a common legal practice in many societies in which individuals had rights to land. It was generally accepted that land could be taken from them, with compensation, when the community, however defined, needed it. She cites examples of the practice since the early Middle Ages in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and from the seventeenth century in America.
Reynolds concludes with a discussion of past and present ideas and assumptions about community, individual rights, and individual property that underlie the practice of expropriation but have been largely ignored by historians of both political and legal thought.
Before Eminent Domain concentrates on western Europe and the English colonies in America. As Reynolds argues, expropriation was a common legal practice in many societies in which individuals had rights to land. It was generally accepted that land could be taken from them, with compensation, when the community, however defined, needed it. She cites examples of the practice since the early Middle Ages in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and from the seventeenth century in America.
Reynolds concludes with a discussion of past and present ideas and assumptions about community, individual rights, and individual property that underlie the practice of expropriation but have been largely ignored by historians of both political and legal thought.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Acknowledgments
- pp. vii-viii
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- pp. 1-14
- Works Cited
- pp. 141-168
Additional Information
ISBN
9781469604282
Related ISBN(s)
9780807833537, 9780807895863, 9781469622194
MARC Record
OCLC
593325337
Pages
192
Launched on MUSE
2013-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No