Vengeance and Justice

By Edward L. Ayers,

Book cover of Vengeance and Justice: Crime and Punishment in the Nineteenth-Century American South

Book description

Exploring the major elements of southern crime and punishment at a time that saw the formation of the fundamental patterns of class and race, Ayers studies the inner workings of the police, prison, and judicial systems, and the nature of crime.

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Why read it?

1 author picked Vengeance and Justice as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is a classic, pioneering study of the major elements of southern crime and punishment at a time that saw the formation of the fundamental patterns of class and race—and how they shaped the South’s criminal justice system.  Ayers studies the inner workings of the police, prison, and judicial systems, and the nature of crime, while at the same time adeptly linking the antebellum with the post-bellum criminal justice system. 

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