Title

Court case, United States v. John P. Maxwell, defense in selling liqour to a Native American

Creator

Files

Date Original

1818 July 08

Description

This is a motion to arrest the judgement against John P. Maxwell.

Biographical/Historical Note

The production and sale of alcohol has been a contentious matter in moral and legal affairs for centuries. In the early United States, it was illegal to sell alcohol to Native Americans. In November 1817, John P. Maxwell was found guilty of selling 6 gills, or 1/2 pints of whiskey, to a Native American of the Delaware tribe. However, in July 1818, his counsel, Chamberlin and Davis, requested that the court stop the judgement due to mitigating factors in the evidence: firstly, that the name of the Delaware man was unlisted; secondly, the amount of compensation, if any, Maxwell received in exchange for the whiskey was unspecified. The outcome of his attempt to arrest the original judgement is unknown.

Transcription

John P. Maxwell
ads.
United States
Lawrence Circuit Court,
of the term of July
in the year of our
Lord one Thousand
eight hundred and eighteen,
And the said John P. Maxwell comes
and moves this honareble[sic] court to
arrest the judgment[sic] in this case
for the following reasons, to wit,
1. The Indictment aforesaid does not
mention the name of the Indian to
whom the liquor was sold.
2. It does not appear by the Indictment
aforesaid what compensation was
received for said six gills of whiskey.
chamberlain and Davis counsel
for defendant

Physical Description

Document, 8.5" x 6.75"

Subjects

Native Americans; Law; Alcoholic beverages; Prohibition; Frontier and pioneer life; Whiskey

Contributor

[S.] Chamberlain and Davis

Geographical Area

Lawrence County (Ark.)

Language

English

Identifier

MSNE.0070, Box 11, Folder 941

Resource Type

Text

Collection

Lawrence County (Ark.) Circuit Court records, MSNE.0070

Publisher

Arkansas State Archives

Contributing Entity

Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives

Recommended Citation

Court case, United States v. John P. Maxwell, defense in selling liqour to a Native American, Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives, Powhatan, Arkansas.

Rights

Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.

Disciplines

United States History

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