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AbstractIn this reading of William Blackstone's Commentaries the jurist is neither a conservative promoter of arbitrary power nor a modern liberalizer of the common law. He is a proceduralist who emphasizes due process of law as the way to reconcile political liberty with parliamentary sovereignty. Blackstone's jurisprudence reflects a particular reading of political history, one that sees Parliament at the forefront of the protection of English liberties. While the legislature is capable of tyranny, it is in the king and the courts that historically he finds the greatest examples of arbitrary rule. And it has been the exercise of parliamentary sovereignty that has reinstated and guarded due process—in particular, habeas corpus—thereby preserving and facilitating public liberty.

Benjamin Franklin had a deep faith in science in scientific progress. His intellectual prowess was turned decidedly toward the practical, & this skepticism led him to embrace the principle of religious liberty. Still, he believed that religion could play a vital role in shaping & preserving the modern republic because of its capacity of educating citizenry for democracy. His ideal was to promote religion generally, while modifying the dogmatism that characterized sectarian religion. Franklin's religious beliefs, their influence on his political theory, as well as several examples of his opinion about the relation of religious truth to government authority are discussed. D. Miller

1762-1786 -- 1787-1817 -- 1818-1830 -- 1831-1845 -- 1847-1853 -- 1854-1865