Description
"The Wicked Man's Portion" uses crime writing as a means to measure modernity in early America. Crime writing does things all too familiarly "modern"; it imagines audiences in need of moral instruction, citizens questioning the decisions of those in power, and men and women seeking reassurance that their community was safe, just, and moral. Crime writing pries open the dialectic between the expectations of authority and individuals' experiences. What emerges is the concept of a moral citizen, a self-reliant individual sharing responsibility for a well-ordered community. The first chapter examines typological interpretations of scripture in execution sermons revealing the interrelation between religion and law. Chapters two and three focus on the interaction between criminal law and beliefs in the supernatural; chapter two looks at supernatural crimes and forensic methods, such as those surrounding witch trials, and chapter three examines arguments for capital punishment that hinged upon divine involvement in human affairs. The fourth chapter discusses gallows publications' functions in the public sphere and contributions to inchoate democracy. The final chapter asks how equity defined punishment in economic terms. This chapter pays particular attention variations of punishment determined by race, class, and gender.
Details
Title
- The wicked man's portion: discourses of vice and boundaries of moral citizenship in early New England
Contributors
- Aldrich, Eric (Author)
- Wertheimer, Eric (Thesis advisor)
- Tobin, Beth (Committee member)
- O'Donnell, Catherine (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2013
Subjects
- American Literature
- American History
- Crime
- execution
- Gallows
- New England
- Punishment
- Sermons
- Crime in literature
- American literature--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775--History and criticism.
- American literature--Revolutionary period, 1775-1783--History and criticism.
- American literature--1783-1850--History and criticism.
- Crime--New England--History--16th century.
- Crime
- Crime--New England--History--17th century.
- Crime
- Crime--New England--History--18th century.
- Crime
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
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thesisPartial requirement for: Ph. D., Arizona State University, 2013
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bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (p. 187-192)
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Field of study: English
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Eric Aldrich