Citation

Hemphill KM. J. Early Repub. 2012; 32(3): 437-461.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, Publisher University of Pennsylvania Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The author uses newspapers and city documents to describe the history of women and infanticide in Baltimore, Maryland during the mid-19th century, with a focus upon the social conditions of women during the period and the social perceptions which surrounded the crime. Attention is particularly given to the role of women's poverty and social marginalization on the rate of infanticide. Subjects addressed include characteristics of infant mortality, its investigation, and the structural economic restraints on women in the era. Conclusions are then offered discussing the ways in which poor women navigated the criminal justice system.

Language: en