Chadman, Charles E. (Charles Erehart), b. 1873.

Chadman's Cyclopedia : (American Law, 1908)

Cyclopedia of Law, 1908

This work is much more than a dictionary. The huge twelve-volume set reveals the elementary principles of law in practical language for the student or businessman. The work takes its inspiration chiefly from Blackstone: "The Cyclopedia of Law aims to perform the same office for the American student as the Commentaries did for the English student of law." Chadman, working with "a corps of legal experts," diligently cited cases and articles, reviewing influential cases in detail, always referencing an authoritative text like Bacon or Bigelow. The volumes include questions for students at the end of each volume, quizzing readers about the Constitution ("How were the amendments adopted?") or testing knowledge of Blackstone ("What does Blackstone say as to the primary right of all to the land of the earth?"). The volumes are not well indexed, however, and the subjects are assembled haphazardly.

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