Tushnet, Mark V. The American Law of Slavery 1810-1860 Considerations of Humanity and Interest , New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1981. Print. Mark Tushnet has conducted a thorough and has presented it in a book The American Law of Slavery 1810-1860 Considerations of Humanity and Interest . This book presents a thorough analysis of different cases where black slaves were involved. One of the main disadvantages of Mark Tushnet’s writing is that he does not present a strict division of the cases according to their geographical location. Thus, the author dwells upon the court cases involved black slaves in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. The court cases point at the development of the slavery law in these states. Trying to distinguish the cases related to the Mississippi state, the following aspects were considered, murders, robberies, assaults, labor law, etc. Even though the source under consideration is poorly structured and the information in many cases is vague, the data presented in the book is important in understanding the law of slavery emergence. Turning to the analysis of the book and the cases presented there with the purpose to understand the process of the emergence of the law of slavery in Mississippi, it should be stated that this source is rather confusing as the cases presented there and called “illustrative and not typical” (Tushnet 223). However, the cases do not have the time limits, it is very difficult to understand when the case took place, therefore, the timeline of the accepted laws cannot be followed using this source. Tushnet ignores some important cases pointing to the fact that there is a great “volume of the material” (Tushnet 233). However, these cases are important as they show the general aspects and directions of the law of slavery in Mississippi state. Conducting a further research and trying to understand what specific information can be considered from the source, the reader should pay attention to the particular cases discussed in the book. The cases are devoted to various situations when black slaves were convicted in committing specific crimes. One of the main crimes which were committed and discussed in the court trials were the murders, robbery, violence, rapes, attempt to escape and absence of the specific certificates of registration which could give slaves freedom. The author of the book presented the cases where judges were either amateur or very prejudiced people whose decisions were always on the side of white parties. The author calls judges “merely ordinary thinkers” (Tushnet 7) who were unable to make fair decisions. Even though slaves were on the territory from the day of the community emergence, the slaves had some rights. However, the development of the court system in the region and the appearance of the specific cases where slaves were involved into made the community authorities to reconsider the law. Each time new crime involving a black slave was taken to the court, a new law in the legislative system appeared. Slaves were one of the categories of people who did not have ay rights. A crime committed by a slave was punished more severely than the same crime committed by a black person. Most of the evidence which was used for defending a black slave was not include din the case, judges just ignored most of the arguments which could protect a slave. The book shows that slaves did not have any rights and the cases discussed in the book and which were used for creating the law for slaves proves this statement. One more specific aspect devoted to the law of slavery in the book is the labor law. The author dwells upon numerous cases where slaves were either injured or killed in the industrial accidents. It should be stated that such cases were the main reasons for creating the labor legislation where slaves did not have any rights at all. Each case creates some new law in the legislation. Thus, each time Mississippi state created more and more laws devoted to slavery in the region. Race and class were the main identifiers of the particular decision. The author of the book draws a conclusion that the law of slavery in Mississippi was unprofessional, the court system was not ideal and the general legislature in relation to slaves was prejudiced. Not many resources are devoted to slavery and the book by Tushnet helps understand what specific cases were considered in Mississippi legislation, how cases were solved, whether the court system in the state was ideal and how people reacted to the situation. White authorities and other white citizens of Mississippi were sure that slaves did not nave any rights and they do not have any opportunity to do anything to remain legally active. The whole legislative system was created during several years and numerous court cases prove it. When a new situation appeared and was taken to the court, a decision was made not in favor of slaves. Further, a new point in the law of slavery appeared. Finkelman, Paul. Slavery and the Law , New Jersey: Madison House, 1997. Print. Slavery and the Law is a book edited by Paul Finkelman. This book gathers many specific articles devoted to slavery is different places. Not much information is devoted to Mississippi state, however, that information which is present deserves much attention and may be discussed for