AbstractThe Cowboy Era in American history began following the end of the Civil War in the 1860s and lasted until the 1890s when much of the Western Frontier land was privatized and sectioned off by owners with the use of barbed wire. Despite the relatively short life of this era, it spawned myths for American culture well into the 20th century. Many of these lawmen shared characteristics with the outlaws—gambling, womanizing, gunplay—which created a mirror narrative that allowed those who heard and read the narratives to identify with both the lawman and the outlaw equally. Men of Violence challenges the mythology of this era by removing the stereotypical cowboy from his original context and placing him in the modernized world of 1927 in the waning years of the Prohibition Act. The story follows retired Marshal Josiah Cane as he is drawn into one last investigation and manhunt, and challenges the prevailing cultural story that violence can be honorable.
