Comment: Race, Property Rights, and the Economic Consequences of Reconstruction

Professors Haws and Namorato are to be praised for their pioneer work in studying the operation of a county court system in the Reconstruction era. They break new historical ground in this effort that has the potential for greatly contributing to the study of the legal history of the South. More scholars must engage in this endeavor if the field of legal history is to reach its full maturity. While their efforts are to be complimented it must be pointed out, however, that they generally fail to make their case in this Article.

They do not show a significant link between the county court's actions toward blacks and creditors and the general economic development of Lafayette County, much less the State and the South. Furthermore, additional attempts to develop this theme,given the nature of county court records and the clear influence of other factors on economic growth, may pose difficult research problems.