John Adams and the Constitutional History of the Medieval British Empire

James Muldoon is Emeritus Professor of History at Rutgers University, USA, and Researcher-in-Residence at The John Carter Brown Library, USA.

“Muldoon’s is a scholar’s book, deeply and compellingly invested in the historical traditions and scholarly controversies of Adams’s era and of our own. Muldoon offers a significant new perspective on both the English Revolution and the American Revolution by relating much of his coverage of the revolutionary ideologies behind both revolutions to their nascent moments in medieval history. The book’s greatest achievement lies … in clear, lucid writing backed by a significant body of scholarship Muldoon transparently offers readers.” (Carla J. Mulford,Reviews in American History, Vol. 49 (2), June, 2021)

• Introduction: The Eighteenth Century and the Middle Ages.- 1 The Norman Yoke: Feudal Law.- 2 The Norman Yoke: Canon Law.- 3 Daniel Leonard and the Modern British Empire.- 4 Is there a British Empire?.- 5 Imperial Origins: Wales, Ireland, America.- 6 Empire by Consent.- Conclusion.