Treason on Trial in Revolutionary Pennsylvania: The Case of John Roberts, Miller Transactions, American Philosophical Society (Vol. 101, Part 2)

In the fall of 1778 John Roberts, a prosperous Quaker miller who owned valuable property located about 10 miles from Phila., stood trial before a jury that found him guilty of having committed treason. If not entirely innocent, did Roberts nevertheless deserve a trip to the gallows a month after the jury returned its verdict? Relying on two long—neglected contemporary records of this treason trial, Maxey explores in depth the issue of Roberts’s guilt while capturing the atmosphere of confus...