The legal system of the United States is based largely upon English common law. Common law consists of the legal principles enunciated by judges in particular disputes brought before them, and then followed as precedent in future disputes. Originally delivered at the Jefferson School's summer conference in 1991, this lecture will present highlights of traditional common law illustrating the remarkable rationality of its substantive, procedural, and evidentiary principles. The lecture will consider the historical roots of the common law and its debasement in modem times.