Explore the controversial legal history of the formation of the United States Prestatehood Legal Materials is your one-stop guide to the history and development of law in the U.S. and the change from territory to statehood. Unprecedented in its coverage of territorial government, this book identifies a wide range of available resources from each state to reveal the underlying legal principles that helped form the United States. In this unique publication, a state expert compiles each chapter using his or her own style, culminating in a diverse sourcebook that is interesting as well as informative. In Prestatehood Legal Materials, you will find bibliographies, references, and discussion on a varied list of source materials, including: state codes drafted by Congress county, state, and national archives journals and digests state and federal reports, citations, surveys, and studies books, manuscripts, papers, speeches, and theses town and city records and documents Web sites to help your search for more information and more Prestatehood Legal Materials provides you with brief overviews of state histories from colonization to acceptance into the United States. In this book, you will see how foreign countries controlled the laws of these territories and how these states eventually broke away to govern themselves. The text also covers the legal issues with Native Americans, inter-state and the Mexico and Canadian borders, and the development of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government. This guide focuses on materials that are readily available to historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and researchers. Resources that assist in locating not-so-easily accessible materials are also covered. Special sections focus on the legal resources of colonial New York City and Washington, DC—which is still technically in its prestatehood stage. Due to the enormity of this project, the editor of Prestatehood Legal Materials created a Web page where updates, corrections, additions and more will be posted.

"[A] guide to the history and development of law in the U.S. and the change from territory to statehood"--Back cover.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1851 edition. Excerpt: ... the United States and the said claimants only, and shall not affect the inteiests of third persons. Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That it shall he the duty of tho commissioners herein provided for to ascertain and report to the Secretary of tho Interior the tenure hy which the mission lands are held, and those held hy civilized Indians, and those who are engaged in agriculture or labor of any kind, and also those which are occupied and cultivated by Pueblos or Itancheros Indians. Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That each commissioner appointed under this act shall be allowed and paid at the rate of six thousand dollars per annum; that the secretary of the commissioners shall be allowed and paid at the rate of four thousand dollars per annum; and the clerks herein provided for shall be allowed and paid at the rate of one thousand five hundred dollars per annum; the aforesaid salaries to commence from the day of the notification by the commissioners of the first meeting of the board. Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That the secretary of the board shall receive no fee except for furnishing certified copies of any paper or record, and for issuing writs of subpoenal. For furnishing certified copies of any paper or record, he shall receive twenty cents for every hundred word?, and for issuing writs of subpoena, fifty cents for each witness; which fees shall be equally divided between the said secretary and the assistant clerk. Approved, March 8, 1851. THE COMMON LAW IN RELATION TO MINES AND MINERALS CHAPTER I. ON ROYAL MINES. According to the law of England, the only mines which are termed royal, and which are the exclusive property of the crown, are mines of silver and gold, (a) And this property is so peculiarly a branch of...