A Rogue's Paradise
A Rogue's Paradise
Crime and Punishment in Antebellum Florida, 1821-1861
A revealing portrait of law-breaking and law enforcement on the Florida frontier
The pervasive influence of the frontier is fundamental to an understanding of antebellum Florida. James M. Denham traces the growth and social development of this sparsely settled region through its experience with crime and punishment. He examines such issues as Florida's criminal code, its judicial and law enforcement officers, the accommodation of criminals in jails and courts, outlaw gangs, patterns of punishment, and the attitude of the public toward lawbreakers.
Using court records, government documents, newspapers, and personal papers, Denham explores how crime affected ordinary Floridians—whites and blacks, perpetrators, victims, and enforcers. He contends that although the frontier determined the enforcement and administration of the law, the ethic of honor dominated human relationships.
In this exciting and invaluable study, James M. Denham, using appropriate but neglected sources, carefully describes and analyzes violence, crime, and punishment in antebellum Florida.’
—Grady McWhiney
Anyone who finds state studies too narrow an approach will have to reconsider their reservations in light of this thorough, analytical, and lively study of Florida’s system of criminal justice. Culling the Florida courthouse records, James Denham offers rich examples to illustrate how lawlessness flourished both inside and outside the astonishingly homicidal household. His perceptions shed light on habits of justice and mayhem along a Southern frontier that stretched beyond Florida's border to Galveston Bay. In sophisticated fashion, Denham has reaffirmed just how violent was the Cavalier South.’
—Bertram Wyatt-Brown, University of Florida
Provocative. . . . The reader can welcome a fascinating romp through Florida's pre-Civil War society.'--Tampa Tribune
