{"product_id":"the-dreadful-word-speech-crime-and-polite-gentlemen-in-massachusetts-1690-1776-paperback-softback-9781009102865","title":"The Dreadful Word; Speech Crime and Polite Gentlemen in Massachusetts, 1690–1776 (Paperback \/ softback) 9781009102865","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Dreadful Word\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eSpeech Crime and Polite Gentlemen in Massachusetts, 1690–1776\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA fascinating study of how elite white men in eighteenth-century Massachusetts incorporated the ethos of politeness into the law of criminal speech.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eKristin A. Olbertson (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781009102865, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 8 August 2024\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e338 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.549 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'Olbertson has taken what at first glance likely appeared to be little more than a dusty collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century legal records and transformed them into an engaging study of the lengths to which status-seeking colonists in Massachusetts used the court system to institute a social order based not on godliness but on gentility, and one that placed themselves in a position of authority. Her work deserves praise not only because it reveals important social dynamics in colonial America and their relationship with the larger British Empire but also because it is so concisely written and is such an excellent trove of colonial American and legal literature that it would not appear out of place on the bookshelf of either an undergraduate student or a professional historian.' Stephanie Jannenga, H-Net\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eThis book, the first comprehensive study of criminal speech in eighteenth-century New England, traces how the criminalization, prosecution, and punishment of speech offenses in Massachusetts helped to establish and legitimate a social and cultural regime of politeness. Analyzing provincial statutes and hundreds of criminal prosecutions, Kristin A. Olbertson argues that colonists transformed their understanding of speech offenses, from fundamentally ungodly to primarily impolite. As white male gentility emerged as the pre-eminent model of authority, records of criminal prosecution and punishment show a distinct cadre of politely pious men defining themselves largely in contrast to the vulgar, the impious, and the unmanly. “Law,” as manifested in statutes as well as in local courts and communities, promoted and legitimized a particular, polite vision of the king's peace and helped effectuate the British Empire. In this unique and fascinating work, Olbertson reveals how ordinary people interacted with and shaped legal institutions.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e1. Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 2. A politer peace\u003cbr\u003e 3. Sensibility\u003cbr\u003e 4. Civility\u003cbr\u003e 5. Credibility\u003cbr\u003e 6. Cacophony\u003cbr\u003e 7. Respectability\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Legal history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Legal history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Legal%20history%20%5BLAZ%5D%22\"\u003eLAZ\u003c\/a\u003e], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Modern%20history%20to%2020th%20century:%20c%201700%20to%20c%201900%20%5BHBLL%5D%22\"\u003eHBLL\u003c\/a\u003e], History of the Americas [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History of the Americas\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20of%20the%20Americas%20%5BHBJK%5D%22\"\u003eHBJK\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52410775273752,"sku":"9781009102865","price":23.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781009102865i.jpg?v=1784252118","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-dreadful-word-speech-crime-and-polite-gentlemen-in-massachusetts-1690-1776-paperback-softback-9781009102865","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}