Crime
1780
Early
American mass murder changes common perceptions of crime
In one of the most famous
crimes of post-Revolution America, Barnett Davenport commits an awful mass
murder in rural Connecticut. Caleb Mallory, his wife, daughter-in-law, and two
grandchildren were killed in their home by their boarder, Davenport.
Davenport, born in 1760,
enlisted in the American army as a teenager and had served at Valley Forge and
Fort Ticonderoga. In the waning days of the war with the British, he came to
live in the Mallory household. Today, Davenport’s crime might be ascribed to
some type of post-war stress syndrome, but at the time it was the source of a
different sociological significance.
On February 3, apparently
unprovoked, Davenport beat Caleb Mallory to death. He then beat Mallory’s
seven-year-old grandchild with a rifle and killed his daughter-in-law.
Davenport looted the home before setting it on fire, killing two others.
His shocking confession
was the basis of much soul-searching for the fledgling nation’s press. Many
books were written about the crime, and the perception of murderers began to
change in America. Until then, crime was most often seen as the result of
common sinners losing their way. But Davenport’s crime and its portrayal to the
public caused people to perceive criminals as evil and alien to the rest of
society. To some degree, this view has persisted through the years.
Courtesy: HISTORY.com
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