ASPECTS OF THE EARLIER DEVELOPMENT OF LAW AND PUNISHMENT

• NCJ Number: 65648
• Journal: JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW, CRIMINOLOGY AND POLICE SCIENCE Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: (1932) Pages: 169-190
• Author(s): C W MACLEOD
• Date Published: 1932
• Length: 22 pages
• Corporate Author: Williams and Wilkins Co
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS PAPER PRESENTS SOME METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF THE LAW, LEGAL PROCEDURE, AND PUNISHMENT AMONG PRIMITIVE PEOPLES, AND CITES SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF INDIAN CUSTOMS IN THE AMERICAN NORTHWEST.

Abstract

STUDIES OF PRIMITIVE LAW SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO DETERMINING THE DISPERSION IN TIME AND GEOGRAPHY OF CULTURAL TRAITS SIGNIFICANT IN BUILDING LEGAL SYSTEMS. FURTHERMORE, THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL SYSTEMS MUST BE STUDIED, AND THE PROBLEMS OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF THE LEGAL SYSTEMS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SET OF THE NORTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICAN CULTURE IS CHARACTERIZED AS PECUNIARY BECAUSE ALL ASPECTS OF LIVING AMONG THE PRIMITIVE PEOPLES OF THIS REGION ARE DOMINATED BY PECUNIARY CONCEPTS; ALL REVOLVE AROUND MONEY AND RELATIVE WEALTH, THE ACQUISITION AND DISPLAY OF PROPERTY. SUBAREAS OF THIS PECUNIARY OR PARANOID CULTURE INCLUDE THE REGION OF ANARCHY -- NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA TO THE COLUMBIA RIVER. HERE NEITHER THE EXOGAMOUS CLAN AND RANK, AND ASSOCIATED HERALDRY, NOR FORMALLY ORGANIZED WAR PARTIES EXISTED. AMONG THE TRIBES OF THE PUGET SOUND, HOWEVER, A GENEALOGICAL PYRAMID FORM OF THE STATE WITH CHATTEL SLAVERY IS RECOGNIZED. NORTH OF VANCOUVER, THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF TRIBES IS TERMED MATRILINEAL, BASED ON THE EXOGAMOUS CLAN. THE ONE TRAIT FOUND IN COMMON FOR THE TRIBES ALONG THE NORTHWESTERN COAST IS THAT INTENT WAS NOT CONSIDERED RELEVANT IN THE QUESTION OF THE PENALTY FOR AN OFFENSE COMMITTEED. BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS QUESTION OF INTENT IN PRIMITIVE LAW, IT IS EXAMINED IN THE CULTURE OF THE SOUTHEAST WOODLANDS OF NORTH AMERICA AS WELL, WHERE ABSENCE OF CRIMINAL INTENT LIKEWISE DID NOT MITIGATE PUNISHMENT. OTHER NORTHWESTERN CUSTOMS OF PUNISHMENT DISCUSSED INCLUDE THE ISSUE OF MONEY COMPENSATION FOR MURDER, THE USE OF PROFESSIONAL ASSASSINS AS REVENGERS, AND THE SPECIAL PROPERTY DUEL PRACTICED BY THE KWAIKUTL. FOOTNOTES AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. SEE NCJ 65654 FOR COMPARISON OF NORTHWESTERN PRIMITIVE CULTURES WITH THOSE OF EARLY EASTERN BUREAUCRACIES IN REGARD TO CRIME, PUNISHMENT, AND JUSTICE.