Project Summary: Discussion 1: Patterns of Crime and Punishment In the period just before the American Civil War those in the U.S. criminal justice system were focused on the ability to handle those who had been deemed wayward and incorrigible. With the rapid influx of immigrants and rural Americans to the inner city, crime began to express a new reality. Given that many of today’s crime challenges are beholden to the urban context, it is ever more important to understand the roots of this problem. As such, there are two questions that must be discussed: What were the patterns of crime and punishment during this period? What fueled the Civil War?