Surveys the history of criminal justice and punishment in the United States, drawing on source materials ranging from the 1654 Maryland Public Morality Codes to trial transcripts from the O.J. Simpson Trial.

Old crimes in the New World: 1500-1699 -- A new system of justice: 1700-1789 -- The American experiment: 1790-1829 -- The American city: 1830-1854 -- A nation dissolved: 1855-1869 -- East and West: 1870-1889 -- The Gilded Age and Progressive Era: 1890-1913 -- Bootleggers and G-men: 1914-1933 -- World War II and the Cold War: 1934-1957 -- Civil disobedience and civic reform: 1958-1970 -- A crisis of confidence: 1971-1981 -- Responding to urban crime: 1982-1992 -- Crime and justice as public issues: 1993 to present.