Colonial America: The Age of Sodomitical Sin, 1607-1783, by Jonathan Ned Katz
Dublin Core
Title
Colonial America: The Age of Sodomitical Sin, 1607-1783, by Jonathan Ned Katz
Subject
Identities
Politics, Government, and Law
Sexuality / Sexual Behaviors
Religion
Science, Medicine, and Health
Description
The years from 1607 to 1783 constitute the founding era of what became the United States. In the early years of this era, in these American colonies, the penalty for sodomy was death, and a number of executions are documented. Sodomy was usually conceived of then as anal intercourse between men. But why was sodomy thought of as treason against the state and punished so harshly? And what do we know of sexual and intimate relationships between women in these years, and the laws and responses to such intimacies? This feature presents or references the original documents that Jonathan Ned Katz collected in his books Gay American History (1976) and Gay/Lesbian Almanac (1983), along with evidence that others subsequently discovered.
Time Period
1600s-1700s
Person
Bradford, William
Kramer, Larry
Sension, Nicholas
Mather, Cotton
Wigglesworth, Michael
Katz, Jonathan Ned
Place
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Georgia
New Hampshire
New Jersey
North Carolina
South Carolina
New York
Connecticut
Virginia
New York City
Delware
New Haven
Boston
Feature Exhibit Item Type Metadata
slug
the-age-of-sodomitical-sin
exhibit type
Document