Badmen And Lawmen
August, 1973
crime and violence on the american frontierCrime is a legal concept. It didn't exist on the American frontier until settlers formed communities and banded together to protect themselves and their property by means of written laws and men designated to enforce them. Before the West developed formal governing institutions, it had, strictly speaking, no criminals--only robbers, thieves, swindlers, highway-men, bandits, killers, violent drunks and other assorted hard cases, all ruggedly individualis...
