Bloody muder test 2 ready #1

Who wrote Property, Authority and the Criminal Law?

Douglas Hay.

What is Hay’s main argument in the essay?

That eighteenth-century English criminal law upheld class power by protecting property and legitimizing authority through fear, spectacle, and selective mercy.

Why were public executions used in eighteenth-century England?

To terrify spectators into obedience and deter others from committing crimes.

What emotional effect did executions have on the public?

They provoked fear, sorrow, and moral reflection, showing that crime led to a “fatal and ignominious end.”

How did Justice Edward Christian justify harsh punishments in 1819?

He said if the terror of criminals decreased, the terror of the innocent would increase, so severity was necessary for safety and order.

What does Christian’s personal fear—keeping guns, dogs, and alarms—reveal?

The insecurity and anxiety of property-owning classes in a society without police.

Why was there no police force in eighteenth-century England?

The gentry feared a police system would resemble French tyranny and political spies.

How was order maintained without police?

Through over two hundred capital offences that used terror to protect property.

What did the Glorious Revolution of 1688 secure?

Freedom for property owners, not for ordinary people.

What did John Locke argue about the purpose of government?

That it existed for “the preservation of property.”

How did Locke’s ideas affect social values?

They made property sacred and placed wealth above moral or religious duty.

How did William Blackstone describe property?

As “that sole and despotic dominion which one man claims over the external things of the world.”

What did Edward Christian add to Blackstone’s idea?

That the law of property is “written upon the hearts of all mankind.”

What was the “Bloody Code”?

A system of criminal law with over two hundred capital offences, mostly protecting property.

Did executions increase as crimes rose?

No, executions remained stable or declined even as convictions increased.

Why were fewer people executed?

Because of royal pardons, transportation to colonies, and the benefit of clergy.

What did the royal pardon system do?

It softened the terror of the law by allowing mercy to replace hanging.

How many people were executed on average in London and Middlesex in 1607–1616?

About 140 per year.

How many were executed per year in 1749–1799?

About 33 per year.

Why did critics say the policy of terror failed?

Because more people were pardoned than hanged, juries feared judicial murder, and riots remained common.

Who led campaigns to reform the criminal law?

Sir Samuel Romilly and other Enlightenment reformers influenced by Cesare Beccaria.

What did Beccaria propose in 1764?

A fixed and proportionate scale of punishments that were more lenient but more certain.

When did reform begin to happen?

After 1808, mainly during the 1820s and 1830s.

Why did Parliament resist reform for so long?

Because the old system served the interests of the ruling class and reinforced their authority.

How did Timothy Nourse describe common people?

As “rough, savage, levelling, insolent,” who needed to be “bridled and spurred.”

What did Archdeacon Paley argue about power?

That power is based on opinion—people obey because they believe in the rulers’ legitimacy.

How did the criminal law reinforce authority according to Hay?

By combining fear and mercy to make hierarchy appear moral and natural.

What three ideological functions of the law does Hay identify?

Majesty, justice, and mercy.

How did assizes demonstrate the majesty of the law?

Through ceremonial processions, sermons, and the visible power of judges in scarlet robes.

Why were these rituals important?

They dramatized royal authority and moral order, replacing religion’s disciplinary role.

How did the courts create the appearance of justice?

Through strict procedures, legal formality, and public trials that projected impartiality.

Why did acquittals on technicalities strengthen belief in the law?

They made the law seem neutral and above corruption.

What illusion did executing respectable offenders create?

That everyone was equal before the law.

How did the pardon system reinforce class power?

It allowed the wealthy to appear benevolent while maintaining dependence and loyalty from the poor.

What determined who received mercy?

Respectability, reputation, and connections rather than fairness or poverty.

Why was the “Bloody Code” both cruel and effective for the elite?

Because its mix of terror, ritual, and mercy legitimized their dominance.

What mistake did reformers make about the system?

They thought inconsistency was a flaw, but it actually strengthened the law’s ideological power.

What was the true purpose of the eighteenth-century criminal law?

To preserve property, enforce hierarchy, and make the ruling class’s power appear moral and just.

How did it achieve that purpose?

Through fear of punishment, the spectacle of majesty, the appearance of justice, and the display of selective mercy.