Colonies codified law because the uncodified common law was not packaged for export

Evidence

Why then were there American codes, even in the earliest days and in the earliest colonies? … In one sense, codification is natural in a colony. A new settlement cannot sit back and wait for the slow evolution of its legal system. England could make do with an unwritten constitution; the United States could not. Any fresh start demands codification. When Japan and other countries (Turkey, for example) decided to change to a “modern” legal system, they turned to the European codes for guidance and translation. The common law was not a realistic alternative; it seemed too shapeless, too complex. There were too many books, in which the law was somehow secreted. Common law, in short, was simply not packaged for export. … The first codes of the colonies were fresh-​start codes. Later ones were often borrowed from the earlier codes. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 488

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Codifying unwritten customary law for a colonial state transformed it into rigid written law — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 255; Colonial statute borrowing made Massachusetts and Virginia legal exporters — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 498; American negotiable instruments law was more advanced than England’s — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 1578 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Codifying unwritten customary law for a colonial state transformed it into rigid written law #complicates (0.75) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 255