------------------------------------------------------------ PLEASE DO NOT REPLY OR SEND MESSAGES TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS. ------------------------------------------------------------ AUTHOR: McKanna, Clare V., Jr. TITLE: Alcohol, handguns, and homicide in the American West: a tale of three counties, 1880-1920. SOURCE: The Western Historical Quarterly v. 26 (Winter '95) p. 455-82 ABSTRACTS: A discussion of lethal violence in the American West from 1880 to 1920. The writer explores the interrelationships between a variety of factors and their effects on homicide rates by examining the criminal records in Douglas County, Nebraska; Las Animas County, Colorado; and Gila County, Arizona. He argues that lethal violence levels in the three counties denote social instability. Such a condition was created, he contends, by rapid population growth, ethnic diversity, alcohol, gun culture, and the boomtown effect in mining communities. He shows that the existence of social instability appeared as a "subculture of violence" within African-American society in Douglas County and a more pervasive "regional culture of violence" within Las Animas and Gila counties. He maintains that these data prove that lethal violence was common in the American West. STANDARD NO: 0043-3810 DATE: 1995 PLACE: United States LANGUAGE: English RECORD TYPE: art CONTENTS: feature article SUBJECT: Social sciences - Comparative studies. Homicide. Violence - United States. Social history - Methodology - Statistical methods. Crime and criminals - Western States - History. ------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks for using FirstSearch. This e-mail account is only for distribution of FirstSearch documents. Please contact your librarian with comments or concerns. ------------------------------------------------------------