The Rise of Modern American Contract Law

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The Rise of Modern American Contract Law <http://www.orsinger.com/PDFFiles/the-Rise-of-American-Contract-Law.pdf> Richard R. Orsinger [email protected] http://www.orsinger.com Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson, L.L.P. San Antonio Office: 1717 Tower Life Building San Antonio, Texas 78205 (210) 225-5567 http://www.orsinger.com and Dallas Office: 5950 Sherry Lane, Suite 800 Dallas, Texas 75225 (214) 273-2400 http://www.ondafamilylaw.com Texas Supreme Court Historical Society and State Bar of Texas History of Texas Supreme Court Jurisprudence 2015 Austin, May 7, 2015 Chapter 2 © 2015 Richard R. Orsinger All Rights Reserved Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION... - 1 - II. STAGES OF CONTRACT LAW... - 3 - A. TWO MODES OF THINKING.. - 3 - B. PRE-MODERN CONTRACT LAW.. - 3 - C. MODERN CONTRACT LAW... - 4 - III. ADOPTING THE COMMON LAW IN TEXAS... - 5 - IV. LEARNED TREATISES ON EUROPEAN, ENGLISH AND AMERICAN CONTRACT LAW... - 7 - A. TREATISES ON CONTINENTAL LAW.. - 7 - 1. Pothier.. - 7 - 2. Savigny.. - 9 - B. TREATISES ON ENGLISH LAW... - 9 - 1. Blackstone... - 9 - a. Definitions and Categories of Contract... - 10 - b. What Constitutes an Agreement?.. - 10 - c. Consideration.. - 10 - d. The Subject Matter of the Contract... - 10 - e. Remedies For Breach of Contract.. - 11 - 2. Powell.. - 11 - 3. Chitty... - 12 - a. Structure of the Treatise.. - 12 - b. Definition and Categories of Contracts... - 12 - c. Formation of Contract; Offer-and-Acceptance; Mutuality of Obligation... - 13 - d. Analysis of Promises... - 13 - e. Consideration.. - 13 - g. Remedies for Breach of Contract.. - 14 - 4. Addison.. - 14 - 5. Benjamin.. - 15 - 6. Leake.. - 15 - a. Structure of the Treatise.. - 16 - b. Definition of Contracts; Categories of Contracts.. - 16 - c. Contract Formation.. - 16 - d. Consideration.. - 17 - e. Express Agreements Versus Agreements Implied in Fact or in Law.. - 17 - f. Offer and Acceptance.. - 18 - g. Mistake, Fraud, and Incapacity.. - 18 - 7. Pollock... - 18 - 8. Anson.. - 19 - C. IMPORTANT WRITINGS ON AMERICAN CONTRACT LAW.. - 19 - 1. Kent... - 20 - 2. Story.. - 22 - 3. Parsons.. - 23 - a. The Structure of the Treatise... - 23 - b. Definition of Contracts; Categories of Contracts.. - 24 - - ii - c. Express and Implied Contracts.. - 24 - d. Consideration.. - 24 - 4. Langdell... - 25 - a. Langdell’s First Case Book. - 27 - b. Langdell’s Summary of the Law of Contracts... - 28 - (1) Structure of the SUMMARY.. - 28 - (2) Offer and Acceptance.. - 28 - (3) Unilateral vs. Bilateral Contracts.. - 29 - 5. Holmes.. - 29 - 6. Pound... - 32 - 7. Elliott... - 33 - 8. Williston.. - 33 - 9. Cardozo.. - 34 - 10. Corbin.. - 35 - 11. Llewellyn... - 38 - 12. Fuller.. - 39 - 13. Gilmore.. - 39 - 14. Farnsworth... - 40 - 15. Posner.. - 40 - V. STATUTORY ENACTMENTS RELATING TO CONTRACT LAW.. - 40 - A. CIVIL CODES.. - 41 - 1. French Civil Code.. - 41 - 2. Louisiana.. - 41 - a. Preliminaries.. - 41 - b. Consent.. - 41 - c. Capacity... - 42 - 3. Massachusetts.. - 42 - 4. New York.. - 42 - 5. Georgia.. - 44 - 6. California... - 44 - 7. The German Civil Code (“BGB”)... ..

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