"""... every state, in its relations with other states, is bound to conduct itself with justice, good faith, and benevolence...it is obligatory upon them in point of conscience." -James Kent, Commentaries on American Law Volume I (1826) Commentaries on American Law Volume I (1860) by James Kent is the tenth edition and originally published in 1826, part of a four-volume set. The series was adapted from the lectures Kent gave at Columbia Law School both as a professor and after his time there. Volume one includes twenty-four lectures that focus on a wide range of topics from declaration of war and rights of persons to constitutional jurisprudence and municipal law. Considered by some as the principal interpretation of American law, it is a book not just for legal historians but for all who are interested in the roots of jurisprudence."" JAMES KENT (1763-1847), also known as the "American Blackstone," practiced law in New York and was appointed the first law professor at Columbia. A legislator and judge, he championed American equity jurisprudence and initiated the use of discovery and deposition. His Commentaries on American Law (four volumes 1826-1830) is considered an important foundational law text.