Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute: Courts in Colonial Virginia
Overview of the early court system in Colonial Virginia and the challenges colonists faced interpreting British law for local purposes.
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Duties of the Local Courts
Outlines the duties of the the local or Husting court in Colonial Virginia.
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Local Court Procedure and Personell
A descritpion of court personell and each of their roles in Colonial court proceedings.
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute: Colonial Punishment
Article on crime and types of punishment used in Colonial Virginia. Gives students an idea of what it was like to live in the English colonies.
Schools of California Online Resources for Education
Revolution to Reconstruction:court Architecture and the Development of Democracy
Article on the ways in which Colonial court architecture contributed to and fostered the notion of community and democracy.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Eighteenth Century Legal Terms
A chart on legal terms used in 18th Century Colonial Virginia courts.
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: The Trial of Abigail Briggs
Lesson plan on the Colonial Virginia court system featuring the trial of Abigail Briggs. Students will develop a sense of 18th century legal terms and justice system through role play and analyzing primary source documents.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking: A Tradition of Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was just the beginning of large-scale rebellions carried out by colonists when they felt they received no help from the colonial courts. Read about the men in colonies throughout America who protested the courts' favors...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking: Trial of John Peter Zenger
Freedom of the press? That was not always an accepted right. Read about the trial of John Peter Zenger, who was accused of libel for printing truths about the royal governor of New York. Find out the outcome of the trial and what it...