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Books > Law > Jurisprudence & general issues > Legal history
This compelling study of the American public's response to the fate
of accused murderer Hattie Woolsteen uses this legal case to
examine the complexities of gender history and societal fears about
the changing roles of women during the Victorian era. In October of
1887, a young woman named Hattie Woolsteen was accused of murdering
her married lover, Los Angeles dentist Charles Harlan. The
subsequent trial captivated the public as few incidents had done
before. The idea of a female murderer was particularly disturbing
in 19th-century America, and the public quickly labeled her a fiend
and a "she-devil." But despite the overwhelming evidence against
the accused, Hattie Woolsteen was not only acquitted of the charge,
but emerged as the victim in this sordid drama. As the public
grappled with the details of Hattie's alleged crime, she became a
symbol of female victimization and gender inequality-as well as an
unlikely champion of women's rights. This book provides the
fascinating and lurid details of the Hattie Woolsteen murder case
within the context of 19th-century American social history,
allowing readers to view this event in historical perspective. Its
chapters examine the various factors that influenced public opinion
about the case and its outcome, including Victorian attitudes about
gender roles and women's place in American society as well as
sexuality and crime, common concerns about the societal
consequences of rapid urbanization, the power of the Victorian-era
press in shaping public opinion, and the subjective nature of the
criminal justice system in that time period. Provides a solid
introduction to women's/gender history that explains the nuances of
shifting attitudes regarding gender roles and women's place in
American society at the end of the 19th century Enables an
understanding of 19th-century anxieties about rapid urbanization
and the attendant perceived breakdown of community as well as how
law enforcement of the period-then in its infancy-was subject to
political influence and societal expectations Underscores the role
of the press in shaping public attitudes about community values and
ideals, documenting how the news during the Victorian era was big
business and objectivity was not a priority-not unlike today's
media
The first part of this book contains a selection of articles
written over five decades. The second part includes a selection of
legal opinions written between 1962-1965, when the author was
working in the legal department of Israel's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. An appendix reproduces a letter on anti-Semitism at the
United Nations, sent by the author in his capacity as Israel's
Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN and addressed to
the UN Secretary-General. The author's varied career, as a leading
academic and high-ranking diplomat, offers a unique perspective on
many aspects of international law, ranging from constitutional
problems of the UN Charter to the Arab-Israel conflict. The author
has chosen to reproduce all these writings in their original form,
while being acutely aware that significant changes have occurred in
many fields of international law in the intervening period. This he
has done consciously in the belief that preserving his writings
unchanged will, not only indirectly, attest to the fundamental
shifts in many areas of international law, not all of which meet
with his approbation.
While scholars have rightly focused on the importance of the
landmark opinions of the United States Supreme Court and its Chief
Justice, John Marshall, in the rise in influence of the Court in
the Early Republic, the crucial role of the circuit courts in the
development of a uniform system of federal law across the nation
has largely been ignored. This book highlights the contribution of
four Associate Justices (Washington, Livingston, Story and
Thompson) as presiding judges of their respective circuit courts
during the Marshall era, in order to establish that in those early
years federal law grew from the 'inferior courts' upwards rather
than down from the Supreme Court. It does so after a reading of
over 1800 mainly circuit opinions and over 2000 original letters,
which reveal the sources of law upon which the justices drew and
their efforts through correspondence to achieve consistency across
the circuits. The documents examined present insights into
momentous social, political and economic issues facing the Union
and demonstrate how these justices dealt with them on circuit.
Particular attention is paid to the different ways in which each
justice contributed to the shaping of United States law on circuit
and on the Court and in the case of Justices Livingston and
Thompson also during their time on the New York State Supreme
Court.
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