THE RESEARCH CONSISTED OF AN ANALYSIS OF EVERY REFERENCE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES TO UNLAWFUL KIDNAPPING FOR RANSOM AND AN EXAMINATION OF PUBLIC AND OFFICIAL REACTIONS TO EACH INCIDENT FROM 1874 TO 1974. IN ADDITION TO PRESS REPORTS, EDITORIALS, AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, HOUSE AND SENATE JOURNALS, AND STATE AND FEDERAL COURT REPORTS WERE USED. THE FIRST FOUR CHAPTERS CONSIST OF ANALYSES OF THE EVENTS AND REACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH KIDNAPPINGS IN THE PERIOD STUDIED. CHAPTERS ARE DETERMINED BY THE CHARACTER, FREQUENCY, AND PUBLIC REACTION TO KIDNAPPINGS WITHIN PERIODS OF YEARS. THE FINAL CHAPTER CONSISTS OF A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CRIME, SOCIETAL REACTION, AND LAW CREATION. THE INCIDENCE OF THE CRIME IS REPORTED AND EXAMINED, ALONG WITH THE SOCIAL IDENTITY OF THE VICTIMS. AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, THE SOCIETAL REACTION OF VARIOUS SEGMENTS--MASS MEDIA, GENERAL PUBLIC, POLITICAL, LAW ENFORCEMENT, JUDICIAL, AND LEGISLATIVE--ARE ASCERTAINED IN THE CONTEXT OF LAW CREATIONS. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT NO SINGLE SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL FOR EXPLAINING THE CREATION OF LAWS CAN BE APPLIED IN ALL PERIODS OF LAW CREATION FOR KIDNAPPING. IN SOME PERIODS OF LAWMAKING, THE CONSENSUS-BASED MODELS OF LAW CREATION (HAVING TO DO WITH A CONSENSUS OF MORAL INDIGNATION TOWARD CERTAIN BEHAVIOR) ARE APPLICABLE, WHILE IN OTHER PERIODS, THE CONFLICT-ORIENTED MODELS (HAVING TO DO WITH THREATS TO VESTED INTERESTS OF VARIOUS POWER GROUPS) ARE CONSIDERED OPERATIVE. SOME DATA ARE TABULATED, AND NOTES AND AN INDEX ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)