Vicious and Immoral: Homosexuality, the American Revolution, and the Trials of Robert Newburgh

McCurdy, John Gilbert

ISBN 10: 142144853X / ISBN 13: 9781421448534

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024

About this Item

Very good hardcover from a personal collection (NOT ex-library). Binding is tight, square and solid; reflective purple titling is bright and bold; white boards are very good. Ends of spine are slightly bumped; but overall a tight and clean copy. Dust jacket has some shelfwear to corners and edges but remains in good condition. Interior is free of previous owner markings. Ships same or next day from Dinkytown, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Seller Inventory # 331288

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Vicious and Immoral: Homosexuality, the American Revolution, and the Trials of Robert Newburgh
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 142144853X
• ISBN 13: 9781421448534
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 22 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • History Colonial U.S.

About this title

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.

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.