ABOUT THIS PROJECT
My name is Callie Young, and I am a graduate student at East Tennessee State University. My area of study focuses in archival work, and one of my main interests lies in crime. Washington County in the 19th century rather than an earlier date is the chosen time period due to its distance from the 21st century. The Washington County Archives holds records from the circuit court from the 1800s which detail criminal cases ranging from small crimes to homicide.
The 1800s were challenging for those who were not white men, and the part of this website intends to raise the question of possible inequality through past cases that went to the circuit court in Washington County. In many of the cases on this website show white men receiving drastically smaller sentences in comparison to white women. Although there are a few cases that offer hope of equality and look towards a brighter future such as in African Americans receiving justice for crimes committed against them.
​
This website is possible thanks to The Chester Inn State Historic Site & Museum and the Washington County, Tennessee Department of Records Management and Archives.
THE RESEARCH
Homicide and Feminism: A Study of Gender Inequality in Selected Nineteenth-Century Homicide Cases in Washington County, Tennessee
This research paper focuses on women who committed homicide in the nineteenth century in Washington County, Tennessee. The reason for this research is to determine whether gender bias, as well as the Christian religion, influenced court proceedings. The research completed in this paper implements articles and a dissertation to provide support or challenge the thesis of this research paper. The primary sources consist of circuit court records from the Washington County Archives, Jonesborough, Tennessee.