FIRST IN VIOLENCE, DEEPEST IN DIRT Homicide in Chicago 1875-1920

Hardback. Between 1875 and 1920, Chicago's homicide rate more than quadrupled, making it the most violent major urban centre in the United States - or, in the words of Lincoln Steffens, "first in violence, deepest in dirt." In many ways, however, Chicago became more orderly as it grew. Hundreds of thousands of newcomers poured into the city, yet levels of disorder fell and rates of drunkenness, brawling, and accidental death dropped. But if Chicagoans became less volatile and less impulsive, they also became more homicidal. Based on an analysis of nearly 6000 homicide cases, the author examines the ways in which industrialisation, immigration, poverty, ethnic and racial conflict, and powerful cultural forces reshaped city life and generated soaring levels of lethal violence. Drawing on suicide notes, deathbed declarations, courtroom testimony, and commutation petitions, the author reveals the pressures fueling murders in turn-of-the-century Chicago. During this era Chicagoans confronted social and cultural pressures powerful enough to trigger surging levels of spouse killing and fatal robberies. From rage killers to the "Baby Bandit Quarter," the author offers a dramatic portrait of Chicago during a period in which the characteristic elements of modern homicide in America emerged. With Appendix, Notes and Index. 367pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in Nr. F. dw.