Against the gallows : antebellum American writers and the movement to abolish capital punishment / Paul Christian Jones.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jones, Paul C., 1969-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Literature and society--United States--History--19th century.

Literature and society.

Social problems in literature.

Capital punishment in literature.

Capital punishment--Moral and ethical aspects--United States.

Capital punishment.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (242 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Iowa City : University of Iowa Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In Against the Gallows, Paul Christian Jones explores the intriguing cooperation of America's writers-including major figures such as Walt Whitman, John Greenleaf Whittier, E. D. E. N. Southworth, and Herman Melville-with reformers, politicians, clergymen, and periodical editors who attempted to end the practice of capital punishment in the United States during the 1840's and 1850's. In an age of passionate reform efforts, the antigallows movement enjoyed broad popularity, waging its campaign in legislatures, pulpits, newspapers, and literary journals.

Contents:

Haunted by the gallows: Antebellum American literature and capital punishment

The politics of poetry: The democratic review and anti-gallows verse in 1840s America

The American Newgate novel: Antebellum crime fiction and anti- gallows sympathy

Walt Whitman's anti-gallows writing: The appeal to Christian sympathy

Women's anti-gallows writing: The sentimental strategy of E. D. E. N. Southworth

Herman Melville's Billy Budd: The legacy of antebellum anti-gallows literature.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-222) and index.

ISBN:

9781609380496

1609380495

OCLC:

744451866