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Popular Sovereignty: A Case Study from the Antebellum Era

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Constitutional Mythologies

Part of the book series: Studies in Public Choice ((SIPC,volume 23))

Abstract

For 2 days, Singleton Mercer stalked Mahlon Hutchinson Heberton through Philadelphia’s streets. Finally, late in the afternoon of Friday, February 10, 1843, Mercer tracked Heberton onto the John Finch, a steamboat that ferried people between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. As that boat docked on the Jersey shore, Mercer walked over to the carriage carrying Heberton, pulled out a gun, and fired four shots. Only one hit his target, but that was enough. Heberton died within the hour and Mercer, who had been seized immediately after the shooting, was taken to the Woodbury County Jail, where he was held without bail for a month and a half.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The murder and trial were reported extensively in the Philadelphia Public Ledger and Spirit of the Times (Philadelphia). For other accounts, see “The Trial of Singleton Mercer,” 1843; A Full and Complete Account of the Heberton Tragedy 1849.

  2. 2.

    To put this wealth into context, $50,000 in 1843 would buy roughly $1,501,415 worth of goods in 2008 dollars. See “Measuring Worth: Six Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1774 to Present,” Economic History resources at EH.net, http://www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/.

  3. 3.

    On the First Troop, see http://www.ftpcc.com.

  4. 4.

    The court system in antebellum Philadelphia is described in Binns 1852; Steinberg 1989.

  5. 5.

    At the time, the age of consent in Pennsylvania was 10. Odem 1995, Table 1.

  6. 6.

    See also PPL, Feb. 20, 1843, p. 2.

  7. 7.

    Ironically, Hammond himself was subject to precisely this sort of censure. Bleser 1988, pp. 93, 96, 169, 179, 180.

  8. 8.

    On cowhiding in Philadelphia, see ST, Feb. 10, 1843, 2; ST, Nov 8, 1844, 1; PPL, June 6, 1854, 1; PPL, June 17, 1854, 2; PPL, June 30, 1841, 2; PPL, Apr. 10, 1843, 2.

  9. 9.

    The story of Absalom is from two Samuel Chaps. 13 and 14.

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  1. Department of History and Levin College of Law, University of Florida, 117625, Gainesville, FL, 32611-7625, USA

    Elizabeth Dale

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  1. Faculté d’Economie, Université de Montpellier I and LAMETA-C, Rue Raymond Dugrand CS 79606, MONTPELLIER, F-34960, France

    Alain Marciano

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Dale, E. (2011). Popular Sovereignty: A Case Study from the Antebellum Era. In: Marciano, A. (eds) Constitutional Mythologies. Studies in Public Choice, vol 23. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6784-8_7

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