Race, Class, and the Death Penalty : Capital Punishment in American History

Examines both the legal and illegal uses of the death penalty in American history. In Race, Class, And The Death Penalty, Howard W. Allen And Jerome M. Clubb Examine Historical Trends In The Use Of Capital Punishment In The United States. Employing Empirical Data, The Authors Explore How Frequently The Death Penalty Has Been Used And How Its Frequency Of Use Has Changed, Where The Death Penalty Was Used Most Often, The Offenses Charged, And The Characteristics Of The Executed. Not Surprisingly, Their Findings Indicate That Minority Groups - Particularly African Americans And Those Of Lower Social And Economic Status In General - Have Been Executed In Disproportionate Numbers.--jacket. The Death Penalty In National Perspective -- The Colonial And Revolutionary Era -- The Early Republic, 1786-1865 -- The South And The Border, 1866-1945 -- The Northeast, 1866-1945 -- The Western Regions, 1836-1945 -- Social Perspectives -- The Death Penalty After 1945 -- The Death Penalty In American History. Howard W. Allen And Jerome M. Clubb ; With Assistance From Vincent A. Lacey. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 205-227) And Index. In Race, Class, and the Death Penalty, Howard W. Allen and Jerome M. Clubb examine historical trends in the use of capital punishment in the United States. Employing empirical data, the authors explore how frequently the death penalty has been used and how its frequency of use has changed, where the death penalty was used most often, the offenses charged, and the characteristics of the executed. Not surprisingly, their findings indicate that minority groups—particularly African Americans and those of lower social and economic status in general—have been executed in disproportionate numbers. The authors conclude that while the use of the death penalty has progressively declined, and the range of capital offenses has narrowed, disparities in the use of capital punishment between social groups and regions that appeared in the colonial period have persisted into the twenty-first century. Race, Class, and the Death Penalty......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 14 Introduction......Page 16 1. The Death Penalty in National Perspective......Page 24 2. The Colonial and Revolutionary Eras......Page 42 3. The Early Republic, 1786–1865......Page 62 4. The South and the Border,1866–1945......Page 82 5. The Northeast, 1866–1945......Page 108 6.The Western Regions, 1836–1945......Page 134 7. Social Perspectives......Page 162 8. The Death Penalty after 1945......Page 182 9. The Death Penalty in American History......Page 198 Appendix......Page 206 Notes......Page 220 A......Page 244 C......Page 245 D......Page 246 E......Page 247 J......Page 248 M......Page 249 N......Page 250 P......Page 251 S......Page 252 W......Page 253 Z......Page 254