Calvin's Case 2 Howell's State Trials 559 (1608)
CALVIN'S CASE 2 Howell's State Trials 559 (1608)
The assumption of the English throne by King James VI of Scotland in 1603 raised the question of what rights accrued in England to Scotsmen born subsequently (the post-nati). The English House of Commons wrecked James's plan for a union of the two kingdoms by refusing to permit the naturalization of Scotsmen dwelling in England and thereby their right to acquire property as native-born Englishmen did. In Calvin's Case, however, Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, speaking for the Courts of Chancery and King's Bench, held that the common law conferred such naturalization and, thereby, the rights to inherit, sue, and purchase property. In the final stage of the controversy with Parliament that led to the american revolution, Americans relied on Calvin's case when claiming that they owed allegiance only to George III personally and were not subject to the authority of Parliament.
William J. Cuddihy
(1986)