Curious Punishments of Bygone Days

Colonial American justice was harsh with transgressors: liars were bound to the whipping-post and scolding women sentenced to the ducking stool. Derived from court records, newspapers, diaries, and letters, this illustrated volume offers authentic views of many traditional forms of chastisement.These punitive measures were taken against petty thieves, unruly servants, Sabbath-breakers, revilers, gamblers, drunkards, ballad-singers, fortune-tellers, and other offenders against the rigid social code of early America. 'Engines of punishment' included the stocks, the pillory, the infamous scarlet letter, and other forms of public humiliation. From book burnings to brandings, this unusual book offers arresting insights into colonial concepts of crime and punishment.