Criminal case files of the U.S. Circuit Court.

Format:

Book

Series:

Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920.

Crime, Punishment, and Popular Culture, 1790-1920

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Circuit courts--United States--History.

Circuit courts.

Criminal justice, Administration of--United States--History.

Criminal justice, Administration of.

History.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (5 manuscripts (95 items, 446 pages)) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1789-1897.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

This collection contains court documents from criminal cases from the years 1790 to 1845, from federal courts in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th circuits (Southern District of New York, District of Pennsylvania, and 4th Circuit in Maryland). The collection includes complaints, pleadings, affidavits, and court findings that provide a glimpse into life in the early days of the republic. The collection shows how important and far-reaching maritime activity could be in the early nineteenth century. Crimes on the high seas included in this collection include acts that took place in France, Mexico, Cuba, the Spanish territory that is now Venezuela, and the African coast. Because maritime jurisdiction also includes rivers, there are cases involving riverboats. Goods reported as being or stolen from ships or merely aboard them include blankets, coffee, and sugar. Cases also illustrate facets of life on board an early nineteenth-century ship, showing relations between master and crew that included floggings, the brig, and the use of the so-called "Spanish knife." There are also records of conditions on ships transporting slaves. And although most crimes involved mutiny by sailors, there was also at least one case where sailors brought a complaint against the captain for inflicting cruel and unusual punishment. The collection also reflects the influence of the War of 1812, including an inquest into an incident where the American privateer the Diligent confronted a British ship while the two countries were still at peace, and records relating to the ship Endymion, which served in both the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. The collection also includes several forgery cases, showing the confusion that could arise with the new United States currency.

Notes:

Date range of documents: 1789-1897.

Source institution: National Archives (United States).

Local Notes:

Images from the source libraries are selected contents of the original collection materials as representative of their value and pertinence to the digital product.

OCLC:

937021532

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.