Uncommon Case of Daniel Brown

H. Shufelt Gordon

Description

An extraordinary look at race and policing in late nineteenth-century BaltimoreIn 1875 an Irish-born Baltimore policeman, Patrick McDonald, entered the home of Daniel Brown, an African American laborer, and clubbed and shot Brown, who died within an hour of the attack. In similar cases at the time, authorities routinely exonerated Maryland law enforcement officers who killed African Americans, usually without serious inquiries into the underlying facts. But in this case, Baltimore's white community chose a different path. A coroner's jury declined to attribute the killing to accident or self-defense; the state's attorney indicted McDonald and brought him to trial; and a criminal court jury convicted McDonald of manslaughter.What makes this work so powerful is that many of the issues that the antipolice brutality movement faces today were the very issues faced by black people in nineteenth-century Baltimore.Both Brown and McDonald represented factions in conflict during a period of social upheaval, and both men left home to escape dire conditions. Yet trouble followed both to Baltimore. While the conviction of McDonald was unique, it was not a racially enlightened moment in policing. The killing of Brown was viewed not as racial injustice, but police violence spreading to their neighborhood. White elites saw the police as an uncontrolled force threatening their well-being. The clubbing and shooting of an unarmed black man only a block away from the wealthy residences of Park Avenue represented a breakdown in the social order-but Jim Crow in Baltimore was not in danger.Prior to 1867 a Maryland statute barred African Americans from testifying against whites in proceedings before police magistrates or in any of the state's courts. During the trial of McDonald, the press described the Baltimore police as "blue coated ruffians," and there was a general distrust of the police force by both blacks and whites. Brown's wife, Keziah, gave damning testimony of Officer McDonald's actions. The jury could not agree on verdicts of first- or second-degree murder, and after an attempt to reach a compromise verdict of second-degree murder failed, the majority acquiesced to the manslaughter verdict.The Uncommon Case of Daniel Brown adds to the historiography of policing and criminal justice by demonstrating the pivotal role of the coroner's inquest in such cases and by illustrating the importance of social ties and political divisions when a community addresses an episode of police violence.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• United States of America
• True crime
• Criminal procedure
• History of the Americas
• American Civil War
• États-Unis
• Guerre de Sécession
• Maryland

Informations

• Publié par: The Kent State University Press
• Date de parution: 09 février 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781631014338
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Uncommon Case of Daniel Brown
TRUE CRIME HISTORY
Twilight of Innocence: The Disappearance of Beverly Potts · James Jessen Badal
Tracks to Murder · Jonathan Goodman
Terrorism for Self-Glorification: The Herostratos Syndrome · Albert Borowitz
Ripperology: A Study of the World’s First Serial Killer and a Literary Phenomenon · Robin Odell
The Good-bye Door: The Incredible True Story of America’s First Female Serial Killer to Die in the Chair · Diana Britt Franklin
Murder on Several Occasions · Jonathan Goodman
The Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories · Elizabeth A. De Wolfe
Lethal Witness: Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Honorary Pathologist · Andrew Rose
Murder of a Journalist: The True Story of the Death of Donald Ring Mellett · Thomas Crowl
Musical Mysteries: From Mozart to John Lennon · Albert Borowitz
The Adventuress: Murder, Blackmail, and Confidence Games in the Gilded Age · Virginia A. McConnell
Queen Victoria’s Stalker: The Strange Case of the Boy Jones · Jan Bondeson
Born to Lose: Stanley B. Hoss and the Crime Spree That Gripped a Nation · James G. Hollock
Murder and Martial Justice: Spying and Retribution in World War II America · Meredith Lentz Adams
The Christmas Murders: Classic Stories of True Crime · Jonathan Goodman
The Supernatural Murders: Classic Stories of True Crime · Jonathan Goodman
Guilty by Popular Demand: A True Story of Small-Town Injustice · Bill Osinski
Nameless Indignities: Unraveling the Mystery of One of Illinois’s Most Infamous Crimes · Susan Elmore
Hauptmann’s Ladder: A Step-by-Step Analysis of the Lindbergh Kidnapping · Richard T. Cahill Jr.
The Lincoln Assassination Riddle: Revisiting the Crime of the Nineteenth Century · Edited by Frank J. Williams and Michael Burkhimer
Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee · Ann Marie Ackermann
The Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights: Examining the Trial of Mariann Colby · William L. Tabac
The Belle of Bedford Avenue: The Sensational Brooks-Burns Murder in Turn-of-the-Century New York · Virginia A. McConnell
Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts · George R. Dekle Sr.
A Woman Condemned: The Tragic Case of Anna Antonio · James M. Greiner
Bigamy and Bloodshed: The Scandal of Emma Molloy and the Murder of Sarah Graham · Larry E. Wood
The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial · Laura James
The Potato Masher Murder: Death at the Hands of a Jealous Husband · Gary Sosniecki
I Have Struck Mrs. Cochran with a Stake: Sleepwalking, Insanity, and the Trial of Abraham Prescott · Leslie Lambert Rounds
The Uncommon Case of Daniel Brown: How a White Police Officer Was Convicted of Killing a Black Citizen, Baltimore, 1875 · Gordon H. Shufelt
The Uncommon Case of Daniel Brown
How a White Police Officer Was Convicted of Killing a Black Citizen, Baltimore, 1875

Gordon H. Shufelt
© 2021 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ISBN 978-1-60635-412-4
Manufactured in the United States of America
Portions of the text have been published elsewhere: Gordon Shufelt, “Elusive Justice in Baltimore: The Conviction of a White Policeman for Killing a Black Man in 1875,” Journal of Southern History 83, no. 4 (Nov. 2017): 773–814.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced, in any manner whatsoever, without written permission from the Publisher, except in the case of short quotations in critical reviews or articles.
Cataloging information for this title is available at the Library of Congress.
25 24 23 22 21 5 4 3 2 1
For Susan—after more than fifty years, still my girlfriend
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1  The Black Man in the Doorway
2  The Irish Policeman on the Doorstep
3  Homicide, Coroners, and Criminal Justice
4  Black and White Views of Law Enforcement
5  Police and Violence in a Divided City
6  The Police on Trial
Conclusion: Elusive Justice
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Nobody writes a history book without help and encouragement from many sources. Teachers, librarians, archivists, editors, friends, and family all help, and I have been fortunate in every category. The American University History Department has been a source of encouragement for a long time. Many in the history department have extended support, and I cannot mention all of them. But two stand out: Professor Alan M. Kraut and the late Professor Terence R. Murphy. When I first considered making Baltimore a subject of my research, I benefited from Professor Kraut’s extensive knowledge of US history, as well as from his wisdom, patience, and kindness. He is the model of what a history professor should be: a first-rate scholar and writer, an energetic supporter of his profession and his university, and a gifted classroom teacher. At the beginning of my studies at AU, Professor Murphy showed me how intellectually challenging and exciting history could be, as he brought insight, humanity, and even a little humor to the classroom. I regret that I never thanked him enough. During a period of study at the University of Colorado, I was fortunate to have guidance from Professor James B. Wolf. Like Professors Kraut and Murphy, he brought to teaching and counseling all the qualities a student could hope for: knowledge, wisdom, an ability to make difficult ideas clear, and a humane appreciation for the subjects of our studies. Indirectly, and sometimes directly, these scholars have influenced my book.
Libraries, archives, and museums hold the secrets of history, and I am grateful to have had access to many of them. The Bender Library at American University has provided a home base and starting place for me for many years. Librarians and archivists at the Library of Congress; the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis; the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore; the Baltimore City Archives; the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland; and the Maryland Room in the Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland have been especially helpful. Among the archivists, special notes of gratitude go to Senior Archivist Joseph Leizear at the Maryland State Archives and the staff at the Maryland Room at the University of Maryland.
Editors at The Journal of Southern History encouraged me in the early stages of this project, and their skill and efficiency were instrumental in producing an earlier version of Daniel and Keziah Brown’s story. Managing Editor Bethany L. Johnson delivered helpful guidance from early in the process, and the anonymous readers she brought to the project helped me think through my material and put it in better order. At Kent State University Press, the encouragement and guidance I have received from Director Susan Wadsworth-Booth, Managing Editor Mary Young, Design and Production Manager Christine Brooks, and Marketing Manager Richard Fugini have been helpful; and, once again, anonymous readers provided useful suggestions. Copy Editor Valerie Ahwee has helped with her efficient work and willingness to answer many questions. The work of these editors and staff members at Kent State has gone forward smoothly and efficiently despite this year’s difficult circumstances.
Teachers, librarians, archivists, and editors make direct contributions to the writing of history, but family and friends indirectly provide support and inspiration that are equally essential. On the dedication page is the name of my wife, Susan, and, in view of the love, support, and inspiration she has given me for more than fifty years, the dedication page could not be otherwise. Her suggestions have greatly improved the manuscript’s clarity, and she has been heroically patient in rescuing me from struggles with my computer. No day passes in which I do not turn for inspiration to memories of the love and support so selflessly provided me by my Italian immigrant grandparents, Antonio Gianfrancesco and Teresa Melocco Gianfrancesco, and by their Italian American children, Frances Gianfrancesco Shufelt, Mary Gianfrancesco O’Brien, Michael Gianfrancesco, and Florence Gianfrancesco Contadino. Love, inspiration, and support come also from my brothers, Frank Shufelt and John Shufelt, and my sister Linda Ansbach. Each is exceptional and talented in his or her own way, and, best of all, each one is thoughtful and humane. John has read portions of the work and offered wise suggestions. Friends teach and inspire, too. Over long lunches and in rambling conversations, Jean and Bill Randolph have taught me a great deal about politics, social issues, and life in general; and even when they didn’t know they were doing it, by sharing their insights, they were helping me write about Daniel and Keziah Brown. Similarly, I am grateful for time spent with Roberta and Allen Schectel—thoughtful and generous friends who have shared their insights about local government and education.
Introduction

Late on a midsummer night in 1875, Daniel Brown stood in the doorway of his home facing Officer Patrick McDonald, an Irish-born Baltimore policeman. Officer McDonald had been directed to Brown’s house by a neighbor complaining of laughter and singing coming from a party there. The interaction between Brown, a proud African American, and McDonald, an inexperienced policeman with expectations of deference from black citizens, suddenly turned violent. But the violence was one-sided. Brown had no weapons; the policeman had a club and a pistol, and he used both, inflicting a bruise on one side of Brown’s head and a bullet wound on the other. In less than an hour after Officer McDonald had first rapped his club on Daniel Brown’s door, Brown bled to death on the floor inside his own home.
Very little is known about Daniel Brown’s life. His death certificate reveals only that he was born on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The coroner filled in no town, city, or county. Apparently Brown was born between 1838 and 184