Murder in the Shenandoah

On July 4 1791 the fifteenth anniversary of American Independence John Crane a descendant of prominent Virginian families killed his neighbor''s harvest worker. Murder in the Shenandoah traces the story of this early murder case as it entangled powerful Virginians and addressed the question that everyone in the state was heatedly debating: what would it mean to have equality before the law - and a world where ''law is king''? By retelling the story of the case called Commonwealth v. Crane through the eyes of its witnesses families fighters victims judges and juries Jessica K. Lowe reveals how revolutionary debates about justice gripped the new nation transforming ideas about law punishment and popular government.