Lindbergh Kidnapping Creates Federal Crime

Before the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping in the early 1930s, kidnapping was not a federal crime in the United States and was handled only under state law. After the abduction of Charles Lindbergh's infant son and the nationwide manhunt that followed, Congress passed the Federal Kidnapping Act, which made transporting a kidnapped person across state lines a federal offense and gave federal authorities clear power to pursue such cases.

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