Colonial Massachusetts Laws and Liberties and the English Commonwealth

Colonial Massachusetts law books were influenced by long term influences such as the English Commonwealth, the Reformation, and English law reform. This volume explores how Massachusetts government and its laws developed in tandem with forces unleashed by the English Revolution and Civil Wars.

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On July 4, 1653, the Nominate or Barebones Parliament convened with a minority of committed radicals (Levellers and religious extremists) and a conservative majority of Cromwell’s allies. During acrimonious debates on law reform, the radicals demanded a condensed law book similar to the one adopted in Colonial Massachusetts.

These mostly overlooked events reveal a radical wing of Puritanism determined to found a self-governing state, fully cognizant of the real possibility that England would interdict such attempts by force of arms. This work investigates the motives for such a hazardous undertaking, and the possible influences these events had on the colony’s posterity.