Privilege and Creative Destruction

Stanley I. Kutler is the E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions in the Department of History and the School of Law at the University of Wisconsin. He is editor of the Johns Hopkins Series The American Moment. HIs newest book is The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon.

A new edition of Kutler's classic work, in which he analyzes the origins, context, and impact of the Charles River Bridge case, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Massachusetts had the right to erect a free bridge over the Charles River even though it had previously chartered a privately owned toll bridge at the same location. Kutler argues that the... case is a landmark instance of 'creative destruction' by the judiciary, whereby the Court permitted new community needs to supersede previously held property rights. Law and Social Inquiry Richly detailed and methodically reasoned... Highly recommended for all students of legal history. Bimonthly Review of Law Books

• Preface, 1990 EditionChapter 1. A Tale of Two BridgesChapter 2. Ferries and Birdges, 1620-1823Chapter 3. The Free Birdge Controversy, 1823-1828Chapter 4. The State Court, 1828-1830Chapter 5. The Supreme Court, 1831-1835Chapter 6. Re-Argument, 1837Chapter 7. The New Dispensation and the Last of the Old RaceChapter 8. The Local ImpactChapter 9. The "Revolution" of 1837Chapter 10. The Doctrinal Impact: Implementation and LimitationsChapter 11. Privilege and Creative DestructionNote: Johns Marshall and the Charles River Bridge CaseBibliographical EssayAcknowledgmentsIndex