A rule of law : : elite political authority and the coming of the Revolution in the South Carolina lowcountry, 1763-1776 / / by Aaron J. Palmer.

• Superior document: Early American History Series, Volume 3
• VerfasserIn: Palmer, Aaron J.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands : : Koninklijke Brill,, 2014.; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Early American history series ; Volume 3.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (328 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

A Rule of Law: Elite Political Authority and the Coming of the Revolution in the South Carolina Lowcountry, 1763-1776 by Aaron J. Palmer offers a fresh examination of how South Carolina planters and merchants—the wealthiest in the thirteen colonies—held an iron grip on political power in the province. Their authority, rooted in control of the colonial legislature’s power to make law, extended into local government, courts, plantations, and the Church of England, areas that previous political studies have not thoroughly considered. These elite planters and merchants, who were conservative by nature and fiercely guarded their control of provincial government, led the province into the American Revolution in defense of the order they had established in the colonial period.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Aaron J. Palmer -- Introduction / Aaron J. Palmer -- “The Scribe and the Prince”: Legal Culture, the Courts and Elite Political Power / Aaron J. Palmer -- “Crimes of the Most Heinous Nature”: Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement / Aaron J. Palmer -- “Nothing but Terrors and Punishments”: Slavery and the Law / Aaron J. Palmer -- “Placed Therein and Managed”: The Church of England, Poor Relief, and Elite Political Power / Aaron J. Palmer -- “Accountable for Their Misdemeanors”: The Assembly and the Placeholders / Aaron J. Palmer -- “Sign or Die:” The Imperial Crisis and the Reconstruction of South Carolina’s Government / Aaron J. Palmer -- Epilogue / Aaron J. Palmer -- Appendix / Aaron J. Palmer -- Bibliography / Aaron J. Palmer -- Index / Aaron J. Palmer.