A Smithsonian Best History Book of the YearWinner of the Littleton-Griswold PrizeWinner of the Ralph Waldo Emerson AwardWinner of the Order of the Coif AwardWinner of the Sidney M. Edelstein PrizeWinner of the David J. Langum Sr. Prize in American Legal HistoryWinner of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians Book Prize-From traffic stops to parking tickets, Seo traces the history of cars alongside the history of crime and discovers that the two are inextricably linked.--SmithsonianWhen Americans think of freedom, they often picture the open road. Yet nowhere are we more likely to encounter the long arm of the law than in our cars. Sarah Seo reveals how the rise of the automobile led us to accept-and expect-pervasive police power, a radical transformation with far-reaching consequences. Before the twentieth century, most Americans rarely came into contact with police officers. But in a society dependent on cars, everyone-law-breaking and law-abiding alike-is subject to discretiona
