Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 5.03 Ethnicity and Race
Presentation #1 Title
From Vice to Virtue: Decriminalization and Cultural Narratives of Virtue in the Appalachian Feuds of the Late 19th Century
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
While historians have documented the criminalization process of blacks during the Jim Crow and Progressive Eras (Muhammad 2011), few scholars include in their analyses the contemporaneous change in attitudes towards poor whites. This paper examines boundary process and activism in decriminalizing a particularly virulent and hyper-visible incident of pervasive white violence, the Appalachian feuds of the late 19th century. How are criminal acts committed by whites rendered less criminal? Not only are whites less likely to be brought before legal adjudication for criminal behavior, even when there is detailed evidence of their crimes, criminal acts can be made legitimate using narratives that depict white violence as justifiable and even, as in the case here, indicative of a deeper moral worth. The decriminalization of whites hinges on organized efforts by empowered actors to maintain and police the boundaries of whites. This paper draws on independently collected archival materials including organizational records including financial reports, Board of Trustee records, inter-organizational and private correspondence.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Christi Smith is a postdoctoral researcher in the Sociology Department at Ohio State University.
From Vice to Virtue: Decriminalization and Cultural Narratives of Virtue in the Appalachian Feuds of the Late 19th Century
While historians have documented the criminalization process of blacks during the Jim Crow and Progressive Eras (Muhammad 2011), few scholars include in their analyses the contemporaneous change in attitudes towards poor whites. This paper examines boundary process and activism in decriminalizing a particularly virulent and hyper-visible incident of pervasive white violence, the Appalachian feuds of the late 19th century. How are criminal acts committed by whites rendered less criminal? Not only are whites less likely to be brought before legal adjudication for criminal behavior, even when there is detailed evidence of their crimes, criminal acts can be made legitimate using narratives that depict white violence as justifiable and even, as in the case here, indicative of a deeper moral worth. The decriminalization of whites hinges on organized efforts by empowered actors to maintain and police the boundaries of whites. This paper draws on independently collected archival materials including organizational records including financial reports, Board of Trustee records, inter-organizational and private correspondence.
