Life and Death at the Gallows of Eighteenth-century England:

Linebaugh’s article therefore serves two main purposes. Explicitly, he argues against common conceptions of the poor in eighteenth-century England in light of their views towards capital punishment, suggesting that instead of feeling callous and indifferent they were respectful and mourning. Implicitly, Linebaugh succeeds in pointing out an element of universality in the nature of humanity and human dignity across history.

Plan/Draft Items

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Comments
• Evaluation
• Description of text
• Interpretation of text
• Critical Analysis
• Purpose – TO DISPEL MYTHS?
• Thesis of text
• The text clearly seeks to inform
• As exhibited by the opening paragraph… to dispel common myths of how hangings proceeded, were viewed, and worked as part of English society
• To point out common elements of humanity, throughout humanity. To show that people are essentially the same. Again, the myth that it was everyday and unimportant is argued against: even though death was commonplace in 18th Century England, its impact on society was, nevertheless, unarguably felt.
• Contrast lack of spirit in opening paragraph with intense dignity, pride at end of article.
• He points out that hanging is not deeply studied, and thus that stereotypes emerge
• To point out the essential humanity
• The importance of the poor
• The conflicting values held by the society (scientific vs. moral)
• As an interpretation of alternative documents – that history is not only about official government sources
• Approach
• Social – with the waves of riots. Looks at the issue in the context of social change.
• Literary (with all the language stuff)
• Cultural – study of humanity, but of a specific culture and how it relates to our culture
• Legal/justice
• RELATE THIS TO AUTHOR’S THESIS
• Fact or Opinion
• Clearly both. Opinion is implicit, through the use of facts in arguments.
• Convincing Argument
• The argument is almost by definition convincing: the mere fact that it exists to dispel myths and point out where others have fallen means that if we do not doubt the author’s factual accuracy, there is little else with which we can argue. If its facts are to be taken seriously (and, with a certain trust in the facts we are given) it follows that we have to take the argument seriously. The views put forward are
• Theoretical Issues/Concerns and Topics for Further discussion
• Parallels drawn to present day with stem cell research
• Own Reactions
• Interesting to see parallels played out through time etc

Part I

1. Gives traditional government account of what hanging is (65)
2. Says that this account is not borne out by his sources (66)
3. Talks about hanging in the contemporary language (66)
4. Emphasises public nature of hanging (67)
5. Introduces the concept of riots (67)
6. Hanging as exercising state power (67-68)
7. Historiography and other authors’ shortcomings on the subject (68)
8. Question: why riot and disorder? (69)
9. Answer: physicians’ fault (69)

Part II

1. Established demand for corpses due to rapidly changing nature of medical practise (70)
2. Legal means of obtaining corpses insufficient (70-71)
3. Widespread practise of grave-digging and penalties for it (71-72)
4. Change in attitude towards commercialising the dead body (72)
5. Argument of scientific utility: criminals giving back to society (72-73)
6. ‘Health and sound Limbs’ vs. “Scum of the People”: dishonour punishment (73)
7. Cost of dissections (73-74)
8. Petition and proposed Act of Parliament (74-75)
9. Deploying soldiers to safeguard hangings (76)
10. Dissection as aggravating capital punishment: Murder Act (76)
11. Private work (not public) as the main scientific driving force (78)
12. End of obtaining hanged corpses from gallows mid-century (78)

Part III

1. The Mob as family, friends, workers, Irish, sailors (79)
2. Families (79-80)
3. Friends (80-82)
4. Co-workers (82-83)
5. Irish (84-86)
6. Sailors (86-89)

Part IV

1. Penlez Riots of July 1749 related to unemployment & riotous sailors (89-91)
2. Fielding’s ill-judged policy of military riot suppression (91)
3. Mob action with sailors as primary crowd members (92)
4. Penlez caught (93)
5. Opposition against hanging Penlez (94)
6. Fielding as not corrupt (95)
7. MP’s failure to support Penlez (96-97)
8. Attempted convict gunpowder escape/revolt (98)
9. Keeping order at a price (99)
10. Janssen’s shift away from military suppression (100-101)
11. Potentiality for flash-riot from disturbance (101)

Part V

1. Introduction to evaluation of surgeon’s struggle against the poor (102)
2. Death as commonplace at the time (102)
3. Resurrection due to incomplete hangings (102-106)
4. Criminal not re-hanged, but transported to America as example of humanity (104)
5. Resurrection as superstitious & haunting (106-107)
6. Superstition vs. social action as with similar functions (108)
7. The dead as healers (109)
8. Emphasis of powers of the felon’s corpse vs. the humiliation of it (110)
9. Gallows compared to weddings  respect & dignity in death (111-112)
10. Other deaths like weddings: virgin or childless woman (113)
11. Hanging unofficially annulled by marriage (114)
12. Summary & emphasis of complexity in views towards the dead (115)

Part VI

1. Historiographical argument against callousness and indifference to death (116)
2. The crowd’s respectful treatment of the dead (116)
3. Death as a crisis & social vacuum: sentimental, moral, and material loss (116)
4. What we call “Superstition” as, instead, a formalisation and elaboration of funeral rites (116)
5. “Ignominy” of the law; violation of customs through dissection (117)
6. The Mob as fighting for decency of the dead, peace of the living (117)