The Dred Scott case is the most notorious example of slaves suing for freedom. Most examinations of the case focus on its notorious verdict, and the repercussions that the decision set off-especially the worsening of the sectional crisis that would eventually lead to the Civil War-were extreme. In conventional assessment, a slave losing a lawsuit against his master seems unremarkable. But in fact, that case was just one of many freedom suits brought by slaves in the antebellum period; an example of slaves working within the confines of the U.S. legal system (and defying their masters in the process) in an attempt to win the ultimate prize: their freedom. And until Dred Scott, the St. Louis courts adhered to the rule of law to serve justice by recognizing the legal rights of the least well-off. For over a decade, legal scholar Lea VanderVelde has been building and examining a collection of more than 300 newly discovered freedom suits in St. Louis. In Redemption Songs, VanderVelde describes twelve of these never-before analyzed cases in close detail. Through these remarkable accounts, she takes readers beyond the narrative of the Dred Scott case to weave a diverse tapestry of freedom suits and slave lives on the frontier. By grounding this research in St. Louis, a city defined by the Antebellum frontier, VanderVelde reveals the unique circumstances surrounding the institution of slavery in westward expansion. Her investigation shows the enormous degree of variation among the individual litigants in the lives that lead to their decision to file suit for freedom. Although Dred Scott's loss is the most widely remembered, over 100 of the 300 St. Louis cases that went to court resulted in the plaintiff's emancipation. Beyond the successful outcomes, the very existence of these freedom suits helped to reshape the parameters of American slavery in the nation's expansion. Thanks to VanderVelde's thorough and original research, we can hear for the first time the vivid stories of a seemingly powerless group who chose to use a legal system that was so often arrayed against them in their fight for freedom from slavery.

This book is designed to complement the author's A New Land Law,integrating with that work in its simplified terminology, and emphasising a three-fold functional classification of leases – short residential tenancies, long residential leases and commercial leases. Rented housing is treated as a unified whole, with particular prominence being given to shorthold arrangements. The book includes reference to the changes to the allocation and homelessness regimes proposed by Part II of the Homes Bill 2000. It also considers the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998, the changes to repossession procedures implemented by the Woolf Reforms, and the year 2000 bumper crop of decisions on housing law. Leasehold tenure is undergoing dramatic changes. The book draws a functional distinction between long residential leases and rental arrangements, based on the registrability of long leases, their freedom from rent controls and security of tenure, special controls of management and forfeiture, and enfranchisement rights. Extensive coverage is given to the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill 2000, introduced into the House of Lords in December 2000, and promising improvements in the enfranchisement schemes, additional management controls, and a commonhold scheme. Topics on commercial leases (business and agricultural) given special attention include the reasonable recipient principle for the construction of notices, a decision on the effect on a sub-tenant of an upwards notice to quit by his head tenant, and Law Commission proposals on the Termination of Tenancies (1999).

Updated edition- Year 2014-- The Constitution of the United States of America, Analysis and Interpretation 2014 Supplement: Analysis of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court to July 1, 2014 is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-071-01574-4 Senate Document 108-17. 2004 revision. Published at the direction of the U.S. Senate for the first time in 1913, it is popularly known as the “Constitution Annotated” or "CONAN." This publication has been published as a bound edition every 10 years, with updates addressing new constitutional law cases issued every two years. The analysis is provided by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in the Library of Congress. The print version is used primarily by federal lawmakers, libraries and law firms. Other related products: Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and Rules of the House of Representatives of the United States, One Hundred Fourteenth Congress can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-071-01572-8 Civics and Citizenship Toolkit can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/027-002-00575-9 The Citizen's Almanac: Fundamental Documents, Symbols, and Anthems of the United States can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/027-002-00606-2 How Our Laws Are Made, 2007 can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-071-01465-9 Our Flag can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/052-071-01446-2