Research Catalog

Terror to the wicked : America's first trial by jury that ended a war and helped to form a nation

Title
Terror to the wicked : America's first trial by jury that ended a war and helped to form a nation / Tobey Pearl.
Author
Pearl, Tobey
Publication
  • New York : Pantheon Books, [2021]
  • ©2021

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library JFE 21-5388Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
xiv, 264 pages : illustrations, map; 25 cm
Summary
"A brutal killing, an all-out manhunt, and a riveting account of the first murder trial in U.S. history--set in the 1600s in colonial New England against the backdrop of the Pequot War (between the Pequot tribe and the colonists of Massachusetts Bay), an explosive trial whose outcome changed the course of history, ended a two-year war, and brought about a peace that allowed the colonies to become a full-blown nation. The year: 1638. The setting: Providence, Plymouth Colony. A young Nipmuc tribesman, returning home from trading beaver pelts, is fatally stabbed in a robbery in the woods near Plymouth Colony, by a white runaway servant and fellow rogues. The young tribesman, fighting for his life, is able, with his final breaths, to reveal the details of the attack to Providence's governor, Roger Williams. A frantic manhunt by the fledgling government of Plymouth ensues, followed by the convening of the first trial, with Plymouth's governor Thomas Prence presiding as judge. The jury: local settlers (white) whose allegiance seems more likely to be with the accused than with the murdered (a native) ... Tobey Pearl, piecing together a fascinating narrative through original research and first-rate detective work, re-creates in detail the full and startling, pivotal moment in pre-revolutionary America, as she examines the evolution of our nascent civil liberties and the role of the jury as a safeguard against injustice"--
Subject
  • 1600-1775
  • Trials (Murder) > New England > History > 17th century
  • Murder > New England > History > 17th century
  • Criminal procedure > New England > History > 17th century
  • Jury selection > New England > History > 17th century
  • Criminal procedure
  • Jury selection
  • Murder
  • Trials (Murder)
  • New England > History > Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
  • New England
Genre/Form
  • True crime stories.
  • History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-251) and index.
Contents
Introduction -- Earthquakes and omens -- Murder -- The children's God -- Manhunt -- Escaped -- Jury selection -- The trial -- Outside influence -- The verdict -- Death and salvation -- Epilogue: Aftershocks.
Call Number
JFE 21-5388
ISBN
  • 9781101871713
  • 1101871717
LCCN
2020027983
OCLC
1240728904
Author
Pearl, Tobey, author.
Title
Terror to the wicked : America's first trial by jury that ended a war and helped to form a nation / Tobey Pearl.
Publisher
New York : Pantheon Books, [2021]
Copyright Date
©2021
Edition
First edition.
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-251) and index.
Chronological Term
1600-1775
Other Form:
Online version: Pearl, Tobey. Terror to the wicked New York : Pantheon Books, [2021] 9781101871720 (DLC) 2020027984
Research Call Number
JFE 21-5388
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