Perhaps the best known argument that the early American colonies despised convict labour was the Rattlesnake newspaper article penned by Benjamin Franklin. And yet, was there actually a wide-spread anti-convict sentiment? Or was Franklin a lone voice railing against perceived British insults? Framed around the claims made by Franklin, this article is an investigation of primary evidence from the colonies of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, in an attempt to better contextualize Franklins writing against colonial law and other colonial writers and correct the prevailing historical narrative that there was an anti-convict movement.

中文翻译：

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大委屈：本杰明·富兰克林和反罪犯情绪

也许最广为人知的早期美国殖民地鄙视囚犯劳动的论点是本杰明富兰克林撰写的响尾蛇报纸文章。然而，实际上是否存在广泛的反罪犯情绪？或者富兰克林是一个孤独的声音，反对英国人的侮辱？本文围绕富兰克林的主张展开，对来自弗吉尼亚、马里兰和宾夕法尼亚等殖民地的主要证据进行调查，试图更好地将富兰克林反对殖民法律和其他殖民作家的作品置于语境中，并纠正当时盛行的历史叙述。是一场反罪犯运动。