ePub The Hidden Galleon: The true story of a lost Spanish ship and the legendary wild horses of Assateague Island by John Amrhein Jr. in History

Description

Most books about crime in colonial America focus on blasphemers; adulterers; and witches burning at the stake. Not this book. In Early American Criminals; crime historian; Anthony Vaver; examines early America’s most notorious criminals: burglars; murderers; pirates; counterfeiters; and other offenders who would be recognized as criminals even by today’s standards. Vaver uncovers the dark; compelling; and even humorous stories from America’s earliest criminal underworld: a New England burglar who walked through the unlocked door of a goldsmith to rob his store a second time; a man who sat all morning on his roof in fear that someone walking by might harm him; but who ended up committing murder by day’s end; a transported convict who charmed her young lover into selling himself into servitude to raise money for her release from prison. In telling the stories of these and other criminals; Vaver shows how early Americans both thought about and punished criminals differently than we do today. Poor parenting; abusive masters; and the influence of “The Devil” were often cited as motives for criminal behavior. Punishments that included the pillory; whipping; and hanging all took place in public so as to warn others not to follow a criminal path. Nowadays; we look to psychology to explain criminal behavior; and we punish our criminals behind closed doors. But; as Vaver makes clear in his book; even though our treatment of criminals differs from the past; the crimes that early Americans worried about are strikingly familiar to us today.