The narratives of slaves, wives, and servants who resisted social and domestic violence in the nineteenth century In the early nineteenth century, Peter Wheeler, a slave to Gideon Morehouse in New York, protested, Master, I wont stand this, after Morehouse beat Wheelers hands with a whip. Wheeler ran for safety, but Morehouse followed him with a shotgun and fired several times. Wheeler sought help from people in the town, but his eventual escape from slavery was the only way to fully secure his safety. Everyday Crimes tells the story of legally and socially dependent people like Wheelerfree and enslaved African Americans, married white women, and servantswho resisted violence in Massachusetts and New York despite lacking formal protection through the legal system. These dependents found ways to fight back against their abusers through various resistance strategies. Individuals made it clear that they wouldnt stand the abuse. Developing relationships with neighbors and justices of the peace, making their complaints known within their communities, and, occasionally, resorting to violence, were among their tactics. In bearing their scars and telling their stories, these victims of abuse put a human face on the civil rights issues related to legal and social dependency, and claimed the rights of individuals to live without fear of violence.
- | Author: Kelly A. Ryan
- | Publisher: Nyu Press
- | Publication Date: Aug 06, 2019
- | Number of Pages: 400 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Hardcover
- | ISBN-10: 1479869619
- | ISBN-13: 9781479869619
