The purpose of Blackstone's commentaries on the laws of England was to provide a source of common law that most people could read. The work was divided into four volumes: the rights of persons, the rights of things, private wrongs and public wrongs. They met a need for laws and rules at a time when both of these were very skewed and unclear. Blackstone's commentaries was important to the development of English law and the development of the American legal system.