ABSTRACT
After reading this chapter students should understand and be able to discuss:
How the conflict between states’ rights and federal law impacted the criminal justice system in the years leading to the Civil War
The development of twenty-four-hour policing in New York City
Why an absence in federal law enforcement led to the formation of private police and detective organizations such as the Pinkertons
The development of indeterminate sentencing and juvenile institutions
Why the Mary Rogers murder case inspired police reform in New York City
The rise and fall of the death penalty abolition movement in the years leading up to the Civil War
The rise of American gun culture and racial violence
How patterns of crime and punishment became more recognizable along sectional lines before the Civil War
The ascendance of Andrew Jackson to the presidency in 1828 inaugurated the “Age of the Common Man.” Jackson’s two terms in office would coincide with the dramatic transformation of American society and social institutions as he presided over a country entering the maelstrom of sectional politics, unprecedented immigration, and a criminal justice system still undergoing transition from its colonial roots.