Crime and Punishment in the American Colonies: The History of the Legal Systems in North America Before the Revolutionary War

The American Revolution is replete with seminal moments that every American learns in school, from the "shot heard 'round the world" to the Declaration of Independence, but the events that led up to the fighting at Lexington & Concord were borne out of 10 years of division between the British and their American colonies over everything from colonial representation in governments to taxation, the nature of searches, and the quartering of British regulars in private houses. From 1764-1775, a chain of events that included lightning rods like the Townshend Acts led to bloodshed in the form of the Boston Massacre, while the Boston Tea Party became a symbol of nonviolent protest.

The political and military nature of the Revolutionary War was just as full of intrigue. While disorganized militias fought the Battles of Lexington & Concord, George Washington would lead the Continental Army in the field while men like Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia and Benjamin Franklin negotiated overseas in France. Benedict Arnold would become one of his nation's most vital war heroes and its most notorious traitor, French forces would play a crucial role at the end of the war, and the Treaty of Paris would conclude the Revolution with one last great surprise.
Of course, even though the colonists broke free from Great Britain, plenty of British customs and practices affected the fledgling United States, particularly when it came to law. While the most notable ramifications can be found in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids illegal searches and seizures by the government, the extensive legal background from Britain impacted how American lawyers and courts operated as well, even as legal codes differed considerably from colony to colony because of their charters. The local codes had to broadly conform with the current laws in England, and the early equivalent of the Colonial Office examined colonial laws if someone sued. Laws found to be inconsistent with English practice were sometimes voided.

On paper, the New England codes were extremely harsh, but in practice, they were often mildly enforced, if enforced at all. One law on the books was that a son could be executed if he cursed his parents, but no one was ever executed for it. Many crimes were offenses against public decorum, but there was a wide range of things considered misbehaviors. Punishments varied but tended to be either financial or public, with humiliation and shame being a large part of it.

Conversely, while the New Englanders tended to base their codes on the Old Testament, in Pennsylvania, the Quaker establishment sought to reform criminals rather than punish them. Consequently, they probably had the least number of capital offenses of any place in the English-speaking world. Furthermore, over time, the list of what constituted crimes changed somewhat, as did the emphasis. The fast growth of populations brought large numbers of immigrants and indentured servants and a more complex society. Diversity increased, and the rise of slavery concentrated in (but was not limited to) the Southern colonies, bringing with it codes of law to control slaves and deal with offenses committed by them.