Witches, wife beaters, and whores : common law and common folk in early America / Elaine Forman Crane.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Crane, Elaine Forman.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Common law--United States--History--17th century.

Common law.

Sociological jurisprudence--United States--History--17th century.

Sociological jurisprudence.

Women--Legal status, laws, etc--United States--History--17th century.

Women.

Domestic relations--United States--History--17th century.

Domestic relations.

History.

Women--Legal status, laws, etc.

United States.

Physical Description:

ix, 278 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2011.

Summary:

Crane (history, Fordham U.) uses microhistories of colonists to explore early American legal culture. Her focus on microhistories is intended to recreate the everyday experience of common law in the colonies. Each chapter is a self-contained story of legal woe about such topics as sexual crimes, witchcraft, domestic violence, slander and eviction. One aspect of common law culture Crane emphasizes is the power and efficiency of word-of-mouth reporting, which could mobilize communities more quickly to address abuse and crime than State actors. Though each chapter is self-contained, they all contribute to an over-arching thesis presented in the introduction that common law practices and values gave the nascent colonies a cultural unity. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

In Dutch with the neighbors : slander "in a well regulated burghery"

Bermuda triangle : witchcraft, Quakers, and sexual eclecticism

"Leave of[f] or else I would cry out murder" : the community response to family violence in early New England

Cold comfort : race and rape in Rhode Island

He would "shoot him upon the spott" : the eviction of Samuel Banister

A ghost story.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780801450273

0801450276

9780801477416

0801477417

OCLC:

708243813