Case Of Elizabeth Rutgers Versus Joshua Waddington: Determined In The Mayor'S Court, In The City Of

A young republic tests its ideals in court. Rights are argued, not assumed. The Case of Elizabeth Rutgers Versus Joshua Waddington records a postrevolution property dispute heard in the New York Mayors Court on 7 August 1786, when the city was still reckoning with loyalist occupation claims. In brisk, factual language, this historic court case pamphlet preserves the pleadings and arguments around wartime rent damages and the price of returning to peace: who pays for years of forced use, and what counts as lawful possession after revolution? As a complete trial record in a primary source edition, it offers readers the immediacy of the courtroom rather than a later retelling. You follow every turn of reasoning as judges weigh evidence, precedent, and public memory closely. For American legal history research, few founding era court cases capture 18th century New York with such clarity: landlords and tenants, patriots and former occupiers, principle and pragmatism. The case is also closely tied to the world of the Alexander Hamilton legal papers, making it essential for Revolutionary War scholars and anyone curious about how early New York shaped modern property law. Collectors of early American print culture will value its documentary force; general readers will find a tense, human story of loss, survival, and hard bargaining in a city learning to govern itself again. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint -- a collector's item and a cultural treasure.