Souls in Debt: The Transformation of Carceral Punishment in Early Eighteenth-Century New England.
The article explains that in early 18th-century Massachusetts, the rise of debt due to war expenses and an inadequate money supply led to widespread debt imprisonment, as civil courts became overwhelmed and creditors sought punitive measures once deemed unchristian. Evangelical ministers reinforced...
| Published in: | Journal of American History Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 233 - 258 |
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| Format: | Article |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Sep2025
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=188078128&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 188078128 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00218723 JAT jtl: Journal of American History issn: 00218723 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Sep2025 vid: 12 iid: 2 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 188078128 10.1093/jahist/jaaf099 ppf: 233 ppct: 25 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 3.7MB tig: atl: Souls in Debt: The Transformation of Carceral Punishment in Early Eighteenth-Century New England. aug: au: Clark, Justin T affil: Associate teaching professor in the Cornell University Department of History su: Imprisonment Prisons & society Imprisonment & ethics Debt Debt laws War finance Evangelicalism New England history sug: subj: Imprisonment Prisons & society Imprisonment & ethics Debt Debt laws War finance Evangelicalism New England history ab: The article explains that in early 18th-century Massachusetts, the rise of debt due to war expenses and an inadequate money supply led to widespread debt imprisonment, as civil courts became overwhelmed and creditors sought punitive measures once deemed unchristian. Evangelical ministers reinforced this trend by equating financial delinquency with moral failure, supporting incarceration as both economic discipline and spiritual correction, particularly for white men and women. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: © 2019 Organization of American Historians. item: Journal of American History holder: Oxford University Press / USA dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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