“Although the title suggests this material will interest only historians of a brief legal era, this book is quite a lively read. It views the settlement of Arkansas from the perspective of the state’s appellate courts. Looney, a retired state judge and emeritus distinguished professor of law at the University of Arkansas, rereads written opinions of antebellum Arkansas appellate courts dealing with land titles, banking, transportation (especially railroads), debt, family law, and crime, and interprets their legal and political significance with the aid of secondary sources. He carries the narrative through conflicts that arose during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Like those of other states, Arkansas courts were concerned with developing the law needed to to regulate a growing and changing economy. But Looney persuasively argues that broader economic development was sacrificed to the need to preserve the status of a politically active planter elite—the “righteous” of the title. Significantly, courts prevaricated to preserve slavery. Even after 1865, elites tried to maintain or recover their dominance. Looney’s narrative sometimes identifies “rogues.” Land title cases, especially, could turn on forged documents or perjured testimony. Interesting and valuable.”
—P. Lermack, Bradley University, Choice, February 2017
Summing up: Highly recommended.
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