Song and Silence at the Gallows: Cultural Representations of Violence,Region,and Race in State v. McTaggart Slaves and State v. Frances Silver

Abstract

This article analyzes cultural representations of two 19th century North Carolina cases, State v. McTaggart Slaves and State v. Frances Silver. Cultural memory of Silver thrives in Appalachian North Carolina, whereas McTaggart Slaves has been largely forgotten. Both cases involve women who faced execution for resistance to abuse, and who both lacked full personhood under the law. I argue that in both cases, cultural representations served to reinforce the legal power of white men over women in the home and justify legal punishment for their resistance. These representations also reflect and strengthen understandings of deviant whiteness in the Appalachian South.