What could be more "liberal" than believing in society's responsibility for crime--that crime is less the product of free will than of poverty and other social forces beyond the individual's control? And what could be more "progressive" than the belief that the law should aim for social; not merely individual; justice? This work of social; cultural; and legal history uncovers the contested origins and paradoxical consequences of the two protean concepts in the cosmopolitan cities of industrial America at the turn of the twentieth century.
#674798 in Books Cambridge University Press 1999-10-28Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .98 x 5.98l; 1.13 #File Name: 052165548X372 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. peeplzchampBy peeplzchampWell rounded book that deserves the proper attention. If you are a history buff like myselfnthen this should be an addition to your library.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Important; but darn blandBy Thomas W. RobinsonThis book sets out to answer two major questions. First; why did Europeans revive the system of slavery in the New World after it was abolished in Europe? Second; why were slaves in the New World exclusively non-European? Eltis argues that certain key cultural influences placed Europeans apart from non-Europeans and this helps explain the differing trajectories of the history of Europeans and non-Europeans. It was wealth and technology that led Europeans to expand overseas. As plantation agriculture grew; Europeans had to decide where the labor would come from. Eltis explains that transportation cost meant that Asia was not an option and because Europeans had developed an ideology that made enslaving fellow Europeans taboo; Africa became the logical choice. The pan-European ideology did not exist in Africa; according to Eltis; and this led to Africans selling their other Africans into bondage. Furthermore; Europeans held Africans without moral issues. For Eltis then; the answer to the first question is pure economics and the second answer had to do with both transportation realities and cultural ideology. Although this work has many positives (an attempt to link quantitative and qualitative at the top of the list); it is not without issues. Chief among them is that Eltis; although attempting to write an Atlantic history linking Europe; Africa; and the Americas; does not seem to fully grasp African culture. His methodological approach seems to be to put things in opposition or to use very broad categories; such as ethnicity. This seems to make the mistake of treating Africa as one homogenous society; not the diverse group of people it was and is. The insider-outsider dichotomy is problematic for the same reasons. Eltis spends many pages describing how Africans defined "insiders" but does not seem to have the evidence to back it up. As an economic history of the Atlantic slave trade; Eltis' work is a success. However; his larger goal seemed to incorporate cultural history as well and on that account; especially when it comes to Africa; his work is wanting.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Eltis's work focuses on the social and economic reasons that the slave trade developed in the New WorldBy Gene Rhea TuckerEltis's work focuses primarily on the social and; secondarily; the economic reasons that the slave trade developed in the New World. He focuses on the English; and to a lesser extent the Dutch; because of this paradox: why is it that the two states with the most respect for the individual and with the most political freedoms; England and the Netherlands; are complicit in the rise of African slavery? Eltis makes an attempt through economic and statistics; noting that social reasons kept Europeans from enslaving their peers; and showing that African states had some power and agency in determining who was enslaved and sold to the Europeans. He does a fine job. The footnotes are excellent; the tables annoying; and the maps useless. Recommended.
