About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

14 Tul. L. Rev. 384 (1939-1940)
Law of Slaves--A Comparative Study of the Roman and Louisiana Systems

handle is hein.journals/tulr14 and id is 424 raw text is: THE LAW OF SLAVES-A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ROMAN AND LOUISIANA SYSTEMS LEoNARD OPPENHEIM- An historical treatment of the law pertaining to the peculiar institution of slavery which prevailed in Louisiana until the time of the Civil War has long been neglected. It is the purpose of this article to survey the peculiar institution as it existed in Louisiana, to discuss its background and to reveal its residual effects in the law today. Louisiana, unlike the other states where slavery existed, had a Romanist background for its law, and had, both by code and by statute, a comprehensive system which dealt with the rights, duties and interrelationships of slaves and their masters. While Roman law was not the only source of slave law in Louisiana, it did constitute a fruitful source from which could be drawn many of the concepts which were adopted. Hence, as a necessary start- ing point, it is advisable to study the slave law as it existed in Rome. ROMAN LAW In early Rome the number of slaves was small and their position relatively unimportant. With the growth of the commerce and material wealth of the late Republic and early Empire, however, the importance of slaves became more pronounced.' Slave trade, though a somewhat discredited business, flourished because of the booming market for the product that was handled. Multitudinous uses were found for the slaves, for many of them were highly intelligent and capable beings. They not only engaged in menial domestic and agricultural labors but were teachers, architects, traders, and even bankers and philosophers. Indeed, as Buckland points out,2 public slaves employed in the public service were in some cases socially superior to the lower class of freemen. With this in mind, it is not difficult to see how in the late Empire slaves were regarded more as human beings with great incapaci- ties than as chattels in dominium.' Such a radical change, how- fResearch Associate in Law, College of Law, Tulane University; for- merly member of the Student Board of Editors, Tuldne Law Review. 'Buckland, A Manual of Roman Private Law (1928) 37, § 14. 21bid. 3But the definition admits of being understood as meaning that a slave is always owned, and as in this sense it is not correct, moderns

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most