ABSTRACT
The interconnection between property and sovereignty was on full display in the critically acclaimed television series Deadwood, which ran on HBO from 2004 to 2006. As series creator David Milch has explained, the show is about the development of law and order, or, specifically, how does order develop without law. The narrative of Deadwood begins in 1876. The chapter discusses the topic raised by Deadwood: the relationship between property, sovereignty, and personal and community identity. In its most common application, the term sovereignty refers to political rule exercised through some governmental agency. The sovereign power to create property is vested in the value-adding labor of each individual person. This chapter presents two different stories unfold in Deadwood. First, there is the internal narrative, which focuses on the ideas of power and property within the early life of the camp itself. Second, there is the external narrative, which focuses on outsiders and their quite different understandings of these same concepts.
