The Rise of the Penitentiary

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The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America
Image of the 1992 Book jacket illustrating a prison and a vague cityscape behind that with people milling about in front.
1992 Book jacket
AuthorAdam J. Hirsch
CountryUnited States
SubjectCorrections, Prisons, Massachusetts History - Prisons United States History
GenreSociohistorical nonfiction
Set inNortheastern United States, Massachusetts
PublishedJune 24, 1992
PublisherYale University Press
Media typePrint, e-book, audio
Pages243
ISBN9780300042979
OCLC24905782
WebsiteOfficial website

The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America is a history of the origins of the penitentiary in the United States, depicting its beginnings and expansion. It was written by Adam J. Hirsch and published by Yale University Press on June 24, 1992.[1][2][3][4][5]

Synopsis[edit]

This book explores the ideas used to justify imprisoning people as punishment in the early United States. Hirsch, the author, uses Massachusetts as the template. He traces how ideas about prisons transition from being discussed in theory to becoming physical buildings and implemented systems. Hirsch also shows that there wasn't just one compelling reason behind favoring penitentiaries as a solution. There were many conflicting beliefs. Thus, this made prison philosophy complicated and ultimately deficient.[1]

Hirsch argues that the idea of using prisons as punishment was based on three different lines of thinking that came together. First, there were ideas from 17th century England about workhouses. It was believed that workhouses reduce crime and poverty by teaching new skills to people who were incarcerated. Second, there was the 18th century European concept of "rational criminology." This approach suggested that if punishments were consistent and not based on the death penalty, crime could be controlled by the state. Finally, derived from late 18th century England was the idea of "reclamation." This philanthropic[6] belief held that prisons could not only retrain people, but actually change their entire personality and character.[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Meranze, Michael (1993). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America, Adam J. Hirsch". The William and Mary Quarterly. 50 (3): 655–657. doi:10.2307/2947393. JSTOR 2947393.
  2. ^ Rafter, Nicole Hahn (1993). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America, Adam Jay Hirsch". The American Historical Review. 98 (5): 1681–1682. doi:10.2307/2167222. JSTOR 2167222.
  3. ^ Friedman, Lawrence M. (1994). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America, Adam J. Hirsch". Law and History Review. 12 (1): 200–203. doi:10.1017/S0738248000011354. JSTOR 30042832. S2CID 150343589.
  4. ^ Masur, Louis P. (1993). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America, Adam J. Hirsch". The American Journal of Legal History. 37 (3): 376–378. doi:10.2307/845670. JSTOR 845670.
  5. ^ Roth, Randolph (1992). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America, Adam Jay Hirsch". Journal of the Early Republic. 12 (4): 577–578. doi:10.2307/3123893. JSTOR 3123893.
  6. ^ According to the Oxford English Dictionary, philanthropic means: "Benevolent, disposed to promote the well-being of humanity or one's fellow human being; characterized or motivated by philanthropy; humane [and] friendly towards humankind."

Further reading[edit]

  • Hirsch, Adam J. (1982). "From Pillory to Penitentiary: The Rise of Criminal Incarceration in Early Massachusetts". Michigan Law Review. 80 (6): 1179–1269. doi:10.2307/1288577. JSTOR 1288577. Free PDF download
  • Rothman, David J. (1997). "Perfecting the Prison: United States, 1789-1865". The Oxford History of the Prison. pp. 100–116. doi:10.1093/oso/9780195118148.003.0004. ISBN 978-0-19-511814-8. Free PDF download.
  • Adamson, Christopher (2001). "Evangelical Quakerism and the Early American Penitentiary Revisited: The Contributions of Thomas Eddy, Roberts Vaux, John Griscom, Stephen Grellet, Elisha Bates, and Isaac Hopper". Quaker History. 90 (2): 35–58. doi:10.1353/qkh.2001.0016. JSTOR 41947469. S2CID 159619264.
  • Bourque, Monique (1993). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America, Adam H. Hirsch". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 60 (2): 220–221. JSTOR 27773625.
  • Crocker, Ruth (1994). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America, Adam J. Hirsch". Journal of Social History. 27 (3): 641–643. doi:10.1353/jsh/27.3.641. JSTOR 3789010.
  • Donnelly, Michael (1994). "Reviewed work: The Rise of the Penitentiary: Prisons and Punishment in Early America., Adam J. Hirsch". Contemporary Sociology. 23 (1): 116–117. doi:10.2307/2074919. JSTOR 2074919.

External links[edit]

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