Alfred Brophy, Author at The Faculty Lounge

Hugh Garland and Dred and Harriet Scott

Hugh Garland and his partner, Lyman Norris, were victorious in Missouri Supreme Court in Scott v. Emerson. The majority opinion was written Justice William Scott. “Times now are not as…

Alfred Brophy April 13, 2026No Comments

Garland’s Castle Garden Speech

In 1840, Hugh Garland was speaking at New York City's Castle Garden. HE was there with a number of other Democratic politicians. He was speaking about "Second Declaration of Independence,"…

Alfred Brophy April 6, 20261

Garland, Orestes Brownson, and James Marsh

Hugh Garland and Orestes Brownson were once friends. And that is thing that I would to discuss. Brownson was a Transcendentalist early in career -- certainly in late 1830s and…

Alfred Brophy April 2, 2026No Comments

Hugh Garland’s Treatise on Slavery Chapters

Hugh Garland's Treatise on Slavery comprised twenty-five chapters. Garland articulates a conservative and hierarchical vision of Southern society. The Treatise on Slavery can be divided into five themes. (1) Christian,…

Alfred Brophy March 31, 2026No Comments

Hugh Garland’s Treatise on Slavery

This has been brewing for a long-time. Hugh Garland is figure in antebellum Southern intellectual thought. He was born in western Virginia (around Lynchburg) in 1805. Graduated from Hampden-Sydney College…

Alfred Brophy March 28, 2026No Comments

Li’s Supreme Pressure

Victor Li, Supreme Pressure: The Rejection of John J. Parker and the Birth of the Modern Supreme Court Confirmation Process. From the website discussing Supreme Pressure: This book examines the…

Alfred Brophy February 13, 2026No Comments

Barbara A. Black (1933-2026)

Barbara A. Black who was Dean at Columbia Law School in the 1980s (when I there), has died. Black was a colonial American legal historian, and she will be missed.…

Alfred Brophy January 23, 2026No Comments

Last Lines of Novels

The Michigan Daily newspaper has a good article (or an amusing one): favorite last lines of novels. For example, The Sun Also Rises has last line: "'Oh, Jack,' Brett said,…

Alfred Brophy December 19, 20251

William E. Nelson

After Dan Filler's post, I would like to add a note marking the recent passing of William E. Nelson. I can remember that Americanization of the Common Law: The Impact…

Alfred Brophy December 15, 20251

Let It Be: A Renaissance Madrigal

Let It Be is presented as renaissance madrigal. And two others and 1960s and 1970s are presented in similar fashion: Stayin' alive, by the Bee Gees. And Simon and Garfunkel's…

Alfred Brophy December 15, 2025No Comments