Crime and Deviance in the American Civil War: An Overview and Theoretical Appraisal

• In Event: Historical Studies in American Criminology, 1860-1940

Abstract

The American Civil War (1861-1865) was a watershed event in US history. Scholars have examined the War from innumerable angles, including causes, consequences, and military strategies. An overlooked approach is to explore crime and deviance, as well as responses to that deviance during the war. Despite a lack of scholarly attention, substantial and diverse amounts of deviant behavior were documented during the war. While reliable data are difficult to come by, it appears that deviance ran the gamut from soldiers shirking their duties, to counterfeiting schemes, to sexual assault and other war crimes. Most research on crime during the War has examined how officially recorded crime changed, finding that it decreased during the conflict, but then increased upon the renewal of peace. This research has ignored the ways in which people violated norms in ways made possible by a wartime environment, and as part of the war effort itself. What types of deviance emerged during the conflict? Why did these events happen? Why did people victimize their own countrymen? How can a sociological and criminological perspective help us comprehend these violations of norms? This paper offers an examination of crime and deviance during the American Civil War as a first step toward identifying and understanding what kinds of behaviors emerged during the conflict.

Author

• Michael Rocque, Bates College