In The Height of Sophistication: Law and Professionalism in the City-State of Charleston, South Carolina, Professor Nelson describes the evolution of South Carolina’s legal system from the colony’s foundation under the Fundamental Constitutions to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1776. He notes how South Carolina’s legal system centered around one city-state—Charleston—and did not attempt to govern large expanses of land outside of the city. Nevertheless, Professor Nelson determines that during this period, South Carolina had one of the most sophisticated legal orders among the thirteen colonies. Throughout the 1760s and 1770s, however, events transpired which brought South Carolina’s legal system more in tune with those of the other colonies.