In Crime and the Rise of Modern America, Kristofer Allerfeldt studies the crimes, criminals, and law enforcement that contributed to a uniquely American system of crime and punishment from the end of the Civil War to the eve of World War II to understand how the rapidly-changing technology of transportation, media, and incarceration affected the criminal underworld.
In ten thematic chapters, Crime and the Rise of Modern America turns to the outlaws of the iconic West and the illegal distilleries of Prohibition, the turn-of-the-century immigrants, and the conmen who preyed on the people of the Promised Land, to examine how crime and America both changed, defining each other.
Reviews
"In an engaging, fast-paced narrative, Allerfeldt explores the marrow of American culture through the brashness, audacity, opportunism, and ruthlessness of American criminals from the end of the Civil War to the nation's entry in World War II. … Allerfeldt provides an accessible and interesting portrait of industrial America and the crimes and scandals that gripped the nation between Appomattox and Pearl Harbor." – Jeffrey S. Adler (University of Florida), H-Net Reviews
Contents
Introduction: Crimes of the Century
Chapter 1: Crime and the West
Chapter 2: Hate Crime
Chapter 3: Prostitution and Sex Crime
Chapter 4: Drink and Drugs
Chapter 5: Nationality, Race, and Crime
Chapter 6: Corporate and Business Crime
Chapter 7: Forgers, Swindlers, and Blackmailers
Chapter 8: Political Crime
Chapter 9: Terrorists and Freedom Fighters
Chapter 10: Lawmen and Vigilantes
Afterword
Author Bio
Kristofer Allerfeldt is a lecturer at the University of Exeter where he teaches diverse American social and diplomatic history courses.
