Legendary Louisiana Outlaws

The Villains and Heroes of Folk Justice

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Folklore & Mythology, Crimes & Criminals, Criminology
Cover of the book Legendary Louisiana Outlaws by Keagan LeJeune, LSU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Keagan LeJeune ISBN: 9780807162583
Publisher: LSU Press Publication: March 21, 2016
Imprint: LSU Press Language: English
Author: Keagan LeJeune
ISBN: 9780807162583
Publisher: LSU Press
Publication: March 21, 2016
Imprint: LSU Press
Language: English

From the infamous pirate Jean Laffite and the storied couple Bonnie and Clyde, to less familiar bandits like train-robber Eugene Bunch and suspected murderer Leather Britches Smith, Legendary Louisiana Outlaws explores Louisiana's most fascinating fugitives.
In this entertaining volume, Keagan LeJeune draws from historical accounts and current folklore to examine the specific moments and legal climate that spawned these memorable characters. He shows how Laffite embodied Louisiana's shift from an entrenched French and Spanish legal system to an American one, and relates how the notorious groups like the West and Kimbrell Clan served as community leaders and law officers but covertly preyed on Louisiana's Neutral Strip residents until citizens took the law into their own hands. Likewise, the bootlegging Dunn brothers in Vinton, he explains, demonstrate folk justice's distinction between an acceptable criminal act (operating an illegal moonshine still) and an unacceptable one (cold-blooded murder).
Recounting each outlaw's life, LeJeune also considers their motives for breaking the law as well as their attempts at evading capture. Running from authorities and trying to escape imprisonment or even death, these men and women often relied on the support of ordinary citizens, sympathetic in the face of oppressive and unfair laws. Through the lens of folk life, LeJeune's engaging narrative demonstrates how a justice system functions and changes and highlights Louisiana's particular challenges in adapting a system of law and order to work for everyone.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From the infamous pirate Jean Laffite and the storied couple Bonnie and Clyde, to less familiar bandits like train-robber Eugene Bunch and suspected murderer Leather Britches Smith, Legendary Louisiana Outlaws explores Louisiana's most fascinating fugitives.
In this entertaining volume, Keagan LeJeune draws from historical accounts and current folklore to examine the specific moments and legal climate that spawned these memorable characters. He shows how Laffite embodied Louisiana's shift from an entrenched French and Spanish legal system to an American one, and relates how the notorious groups like the West and Kimbrell Clan served as community leaders and law officers but covertly preyed on Louisiana's Neutral Strip residents until citizens took the law into their own hands. Likewise, the bootlegging Dunn brothers in Vinton, he explains, demonstrate folk justice's distinction between an acceptable criminal act (operating an illegal moonshine still) and an unacceptable one (cold-blooded murder).
Recounting each outlaw's life, LeJeune also considers their motives for breaking the law as well as their attempts at evading capture. Running from authorities and trying to escape imprisonment or even death, these men and women often relied on the support of ordinary citizens, sympathetic in the face of oppressive and unfair laws. Through the lens of folk life, LeJeune's engaging narrative demonstrates how a justice system functions and changes and highlights Louisiana's particular challenges in adapting a system of law and order to work for everyone.

More books from LSU Press

Cover of the book The Best of Peter Finney, Legendary New Orleans Sportswriter by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Handbook on German Military Forces by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Daisy Petals and Mushroom Clouds by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Slavery, Emancipation, and Freedom by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book River of Dreams by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book William Lloyd Garrison and Giuseppe Mazzini by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Promise by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Moroccan Households in the World Economy by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book The Prose Elegy by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Marital Cruelty in Antebellum America by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book The Fredericksburg Campaign by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Black Africans in the British Imagination by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Vinculum by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Beleaguered Winchester by Keagan LeJeune
Cover of the book Freeing the Presses by Keagan LeJeune
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy