William Blackstone
English Jurist and Legal Scholar
1723 - 1780
Author of Commentaries on the Laws of England, the most influential legal treatise in the common law world and a foundational text for the American legal system.
Biography
Sir William Blackstone was an English jurist, judge, and Tory politician whose Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769) became the most widely read legal text in the English-speaking world. The Commentaries organized the entire body of English common law into a systematic, accessible treatise that could be understood by educated laypeople as well as lawyers.
The Commentaries were more influential in America than in England. In the colonial and early republic period, American lawyers learned law primarily from Blackstone rather than from formal legal education. Abraham Lincoln famously taught himself law by reading Blackstone's Commentaries. The Framers of the Constitution were deeply influenced by Blackstone's articulation of common law principles, natural rights, and the structure of government.
Blackstone's organization of law into the rights of persons, the rights of things, private wrongs, and public wrongs provided the analytical framework that shaped American legal education for over a century. His explanations of property law, criminal law, and individual rights continue to be cited by courts, including the United States Supreme Court, which has referenced the Commentaries hundreds of times.
Major Accomplishments
- 1Authored the Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769)
- 2First Vinerian Professor of English Law at Oxford University
- 3Systematized the common law into an accessible, comprehensive treatise
- 4Influenced the Framers of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights
- 5Most cited legal authority in early American legal history
Notable Opinions & Cases
Commentaries on the Laws of England
1769
The foundational treatise of common law, organizing centuries of legal principles into a coherent system
Perrin v. Blake (as counsel)
1770
Significant case on the Rule in Shelley's Case and the interpretation of wills
Jones v. Randall
1774
Addressed natural justice and the limits of positive law
Rex v. Wilkes (Parliament)
1769
As MP, was involved in debates over parliamentary privilege and press freedom
Legacy
Blackstone's Commentaries remain the most important single work in the common law tradition. The Supreme Court continues to cite Blackstone when interpreting constitutional provisions rooted in common law concepts, including the Second Amendment (in Heller), the Confrontation Clause, and property rights. His influence on American law is so pervasive that it is impossible to understand American legal history without understanding Blackstone.
Famous Quotes
“It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.”
“The law, which restrains a man from doing mischief to his fellow citizens, though it diminishes the natural, increases the civil liberty of mankind.”
“Man was formed for society and is neither capable of living alone, nor has the courage to do it.”
“So great moreover is the regard of the law for private property, that it will not authorize the least violation of it; no, not even for the general good of the whole community.”