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Policing the elephant : crime, punishment, and social behavior on the Overland Trail / by John Phillip Reid.
LIBRA HV9955.W4 R45 1997
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Reid, John Phillip.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Criminal justice, Administration of--West (U.S.)--History--19th century.
- Criminal justice, Administration of.
- Crime--West (U.S.)--History--19th century.
- Crime.
- Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.).
- Frontier and pioneer life.
- Overland journeys to the Pacific.
- History.
- Physical Description:
- 316 pages ; 23 cm
- Place of Publication:
- San Marino, Calif. : Huntington Library Press, 1997.
- Summary:
- "Policing the Elephant," the companion volume to "Law for the Elephant," examines criminal activity and its consequences among travelers on the overland trail in the early nineteenth century. Reid consulted hundreds of primary sources to discover how justice was meted out--without police, attorneys, or courts. Separating fact from fiction, he explores how emigrants dealt with spousal abuse, homicide, robbery, organized crime, and larceny. He also looks into famous episodes of executions. Introducing real people and real incidents, his book shows that Americans have been far more law abiding than television, the movies, and pulp fiction would often have us believe.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 0873281594
- OCLC:
- 35159215
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