New Way of Thinking.

Public executions came to the colonies from the mother country as the ultimate demonstration of the power of the Crown in the maintenance of social order. Few people doubted the government's right to take the life of anyone who seriously violated the rules of civil society. The preservation of order was a fundamental concern of colonial governments, and public hangings were designed as much to be a warning to others as a punishment for wrongdoing.

Shays's Rebellion.

The story of Shays's Rebellion of 1786 highlights this aspect of capital punishment. Unable to pay the high taxes imposed on them by the state legislature meeting in Boston, many western Massachusetts farmers were jailed or had their livestock or land confiscated to cover their unpaid debts. These disgruntled farmers, deep in debt and trying to make a living...