This volume investigates the divergence of colonial American legal systems from English common law during the seventeenth century. William E. Nelson, a scholar of American legal history, utilizes extensive archival research into local court records to construct a comparative framework. He argues that the legal structures in the Chesapeake and New England regions evolved independently and distinctively from their English origins, shaped by the specific socio-political needs of early settlers.

Legal historians recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the early development of American jurisprudence. Scholars frequently cite the book for its rigorous archival methodology and its detailed reconstruction of colonial legal administration.