Legal Papers of Andrew Jackson

• Author(s): Jackson, Andrew
• Series:
• Imprint: Univ Tennessee Press
• Publication Date: 1988-02-10
• Status: Active
• Available in Hardcover - Cloth: Price $65.00 | Buy Now

Although Andrew Jackson engaged actively in the practice of law for nearly ten years and served as a member of the Superior Court of Law and Equity in the new state of Tennessee for more than five years, his career as an attorney has not been treated in detail by any of his numerous biographers. This volume at last traces Jackson’s formative experiences as lawyer and judge.

More broadly, Legal Papers of Andrew Jackson investigates the practice of law on the trans-Appalachian frontier. Based upon a careful examination of unpublished court records, this book affords valuable insights into the development of the legal system in newly settled regions of the Old Southwest.

An introductory essay treats Jackson’s legal career, within the context of the legal culture of post-Revolutionary North Carolina and early Tennessee. Most of the volume consists of carefully annotated legal pleadings and documents illustrating the nature, quality, and variety of Jackson’s practice and of the disputes he and his fellow judges were called upon to resolve. Published here for the first time are several decisions Jackson rendered while he was a judge. Of special value to scholars are a chronology of Jackson’s legal career and a biographical register of Jackson’s colleagues in the legal community.

Legal Papers of Andrew Jackson is a supplemental volume of The Legal papers of Andrew Jackson, published by the University of Tennessee Press.

James W. Ely, Jr. is professor of law at Vanderbilt University.
Theodore Brown, Jr., practices law in Atlanta, Georgia.