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Imperial Politics and English Law: The Many Contexts of Somerset

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2010

Ruth Paley
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Extract

One might have thought that after nearly 250 years there would be nothing left to discuss about what Lord Mansfield did or did not intend to say when he delivered his ruling in Steuart v. Somerset. Yet, as Van Cleve's essay shows us, Mansfield's words continue to provide fertile ground for scholarly investigation. Sadly, this is almost certainly because Somerset continues to resonate in contemporary American society for reasons that are as much about perceptions of racism and black heritage as about the plight of Somerset himself.

Type
Forum: Comment
Information
Law and History Review , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , Fall 2006 , pp. 659 - 664
Copyright
Copyright © the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois 2006

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References

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