8th Grade Baseline Writing; Colonial Punishments

The first Europeans to arrive in Colonial America came for religious freedom. As they began to create their government, elected male politicians developed laws that were greatly influenced by ideas and direct language from the Bible. In most colonies it was against the law to swear, not to attend church services, to display unacceptable behavior between members of the opposite gender, and to behave inappropriately on Sabbath. Blasphemy (speaking out against the church) was dealt with severely and treason was considered a serious crime as the King wanted to keep tight control over the colonies.

In New England, Puritan punishment was based on the premise that punishment should humiliate the criminals so that they could see the error of their ways and change them. The most common form of punishment were the stocks and pillory. Stocks were heavy wooden frames with holes for securing the guilty in a sitting position. The pillory was designed so that the person would be confined in a standing position. The difference between the use of the two seems to have depended upon who was being punished. The pillory was reserved for members of the community with higher social standing, whereas the stocks were used for the lower class individuals. These individuals were openly mocked by the public who also threw objects such as rocks and rotten food at them. The stocks and pillory were strategically placed by the meeting house where many people would walk by.

The ducking stool was still another common device of punishment. It was reserved for women and involved having a woman tied to a stool which was submerged into a lake or river. Gossiping and scolding one’s husband were the crimes deserving of this punishment. The number of dunks and duration of each dunk depended on the decision of the judge.  A husband could save his wife by paying a fine, although no records exist of how often this happened. 

In the south, religious observation on the Sabbath was not enforced. Instead, colonial leaders were more concerned about property boundaries and their most profitable crop called tobacco. Since there were few fences in rural Virginia and hogs were allowed to range freely, hog theft was common. A first theft of a hog was punished with 20 lashes on the back and payment of 20 pounds of tobacco. A second offense resulted in the criminal standing two hours in the pillory with both ears nailed to the wooden frame. Another example shows that a fine of 2,000 pounds of tobacco was required for any person who intentionally criticized the colony’s government.  Overall, it was seen that people belonging to higher social class were punished less severely than a person belonging to a lower class even if the crime was the same. This also held true for women, who were whipped or publicly shamed for a crime while a man would get away with a fine for the same crime. However, convicted slaves always received the worst punishments. For example, they were given a whipping or involuntary amputation (example: ear cut off for not listening), regardless of the crime.