Vicious and Immoral - by John Gilbert McCurdy (Hardcover)
About this item
Highlights
- The fascinating story of a British army chaplain's buggery trial in 1774 reveals surprising truths about early America.On the eve of the American Revolution, the British army considered the case of a chaplain, Robert Newburgh, who had been accused of having sex with a man.
- About the Author: John Gilbert McCurdy (YPSILANTI, MI) is a professor of history at Eastern Michigan University.
- 376 Pages
- History, United States
Description
About the Book
"On the eve of the American Revolution, the British army considered the case of a chaplain, Robert Newburgh, who had been accused of having sex with a man. Newburgh's enemies cited his flamboyant appearance, defiance of military authority, and seduction of soldiers as proof of low character. Consumed by fears that the British Empire would be torn asunder, his opponents claimed that these supposed crimes against nature translated to crimes against the king. In VICIOUS AND IMMORAL, historian John Gilbert McCurdy tells this compelling story of male intimacy and provides an unparalleled glimpse inside eighteenth-century perceptions of queerness"--Front jacket flap.Book Synopsis
The fascinating story of a British army chaplain's buggery trial in 1774 reveals surprising truths about early America.
On the eve of the American Revolution, the British army considered the case of a chaplain, Robert Newburgh, who had been accused of having sex with a man. Newburgh's enemies cited his flamboyant appearance, defiance of military authority, and seduction of soldiers as proof of his low character. Consumed by fears that the British Empire would soon be torn asunder, his opponents claimed that these supposed crimes against nature translated to crimes against the king.
In Vicious and Immoral, historian John McCurdy tells this compelling story of male intimacy and provides an unparalleled glimpse inside eighteenth-century perceptions of queerness. By demanding to have his case heard, Newburgh invoked Enlightenment ideals of equality, arguing passionately that his style of dress and manner should not affect his place in the army or society. His accusers equated queer behavior with rebellion, and his defenders would go on to join the American cause. Newburgh's trial offers some clues to understanding a peculiarity of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century: while gay acts were prohibited by law in much of the British empire, the newly formed United States was comparatively uninterested in legislating against same-sex intimacy.
McCurdy imagines what life was like for a gay man in early America and captures the voices of those who loved and hated Newburgh, revealing how sexuality and revolution informed one another. Vicious and Immoral is the first book to place homosexuality in conversation with the American Revolution, and it dares us to rethink the place of LGBTQ people in the founding of the nation.
Review Quotes
By investigating a topic once seen as taboo--homosexuality, particularly in the military--McCurdy has shed new light on an otherwise familiar period in American history. Vicious and Immoral is a book whose time has come, and one that adds greatly to our understanding of our nation, its onetime relationship with Mother England, and the more-inclusive values now shared on both sides of the Atlantic.
--Washington Independent Review of Books
McCurdy's accessible narrative is steeped in interpersonal strife and courtroom drama. The result is a spectacularly fine-grained look at the interplay between sexual and revolutionary politics.
--Publishers Weekly (starred)
About the Author
John Gilbert McCurdy (YPSILANTI, MI) is a professor of history at Eastern Michigan University. He is the author of Citizen Bachelors: Manhood and the Creation of the United States and Quarters: The Accommodation of the British Army and the Coming of the American Revolution.