Expression of the Female Struggle through Theft in Wartime

Abstract

Throughout historical and criminological study, women have often been viewed as the “milder” sex, and less likely to commit crimes such as theft. However, as Beattie stated, women stole just the same as men, and stole “for the same reason men stole [during the Revolution] – largely as a means of survival, as a way of supplementing inadequate wages or of supplying the most basic wants.”1. It can be inferred that women, who were driven to crime by their needs, would have been greatly impacted by the Revolutionary War and attracted to theft as a support. In a time where women were unable to own property or work in occupations that were traditionally male dominated, there were few options to support oneself or one’s family with many “heads of the household” at war. There is also a factor to be examined in the seasonal frequency of crime. In a temporal context that is highly dependent upon a quality summer and fall harvest, individuals struggled more during the winter months to survive. Through this understanding, we can begin to question the impact of two variables: gender roles and seasonal impact. The goal of this essay is to examine the impact of gender roles on female theft during the time of the Revolutionary War, along with the impact of seasons and the progression of war on crime. To do so, we will examine cases of theft offences with guilty verdicts archived in the Old Bailey On-Line database for 6 periods: January to March 1776, June to August 1776, January to March 1780, June to August 1780, January to March 1783, and Jun to August 1783.