American Institutional And Prison Reformation free essay sample

American Institutional and Prison Reformation of the 1 sass Prior to the Civil War, Jackson America was a time of immense reforms in many public establishments including schools, family, and prisons. The most influential characters of the reformation of prisons in the sass undoubtedly consist in the Auburn and Pennsylvania systems and social reformer, Throated Dixie. During this time in America, the concept of imprisonment came upon with profound religious beliefs, primarily of the Quakers. Prisons also shifted from being institutions of criminal prevention to a foundation for rehabilitation.The Auburn system often referred to as the ? Congregate system,? Was first implemented in 1819 in the New York State Prison. The structure incorporated Quaker standards of reformation mainly regarding more humane conditions but still was considered more brutal than the Pennsylvania system. According to the Auburn system, prisoners labored together in total silence during the day, but were housed separately at night. The philosophy of the prison based itself on the fear of punishment and silent confinement. Strict discipline was enforced and violators were subject to harsh reprisals. The work regimen produced income that the Pennsylvania system simply did not generate, making the Auburn system more cost effective and practical. The second model, the Pennsylvania system, began in 1829 in the Eastern State Penitentiary at Cherry Hill. This system was based on extreme solitary confinement for convicts by day and night with the belief that a felon alone in a cell with only a Bible to read could be rehabilitated.The major differences between the two practices rest in the number of inmates per cell; Pennsylvania holding one per, while Auburn holding ten to fifteen times that amount. The housing styles also being different in that Pennsylvania was based on the traditional plan for housing monks in a monastery. The Auburn system introduced the ? Tier system,? Different levels of cells built above one another. Convicts were housed according to their offense category ? First time vs. . Repeaters, murderers vs.. Thieves, and so on.Although there were heated debates between the two systems, ? They were not radically unlike each other.? (Abaca 1). People who favored the Pennsylvania system focused on its hope of rehabilitation, in that the mentioned above theory being that a felon alone in a cell with only a Bible to read would become penitent. (This is where the word ? Penitentiary? Was derived) The Auburn system was criticized as being virtual slavery, because the prisoners, under this system, were often put to work for private business owners who had contracted the state for their labor.Prisoners were never paid leaving the business and the state a good profit, meaning the state did not have to finance the prison. Consequently, the majority of states adopted the Auburn approach. People who believed in the Auburn system held the Renville that the idleness and solidarity of convicts in Cherry Hill frequently went insane. The Pennsylvania system was discovered in the United States for three main grounds: 1. Took up too much space 2. Housed too few prisoners 3. Did not allow for group work or living. (Secure Corrections 4).Throated Lynda Dixie was born on April 4, 1802 in Hampered, Maine. Her father, Joseph, was a traveling Methodist preacher. Her family life was ? Abusive and virtually nonexistent.? (Tiffany 5). When Throated was twelve, it was decided that her parents were no longer able to care for her or her two rooters. The three moved in with their grandmother, Madame Dixie, to the Dixie Mansion in Boston. At the age of fourteen, Madame Dixie suggested that her sister take guardianship of Throated for a while and transform her into a ? Lady.? Throughout the time at her aunt? House, Throated attended numerous parties and at the time was acquainted her second cousin, Edward Bangs. He was fourteen years older than she and a renowned attorney featured in the states. Edward assumed an instantaneous curiosity in Throated and regularly spoke of his future plans. Throated informed him hat she intended on becoming a schoolteacher. After several counts of help and advice from her second cousin and future fiance, Throated was confronted with her first twenty students in the fall of 181 6 in a modest warehouse on Main Street. She kept the school operating for three years and was eternally grateful to Edward for supporting her dream of teaching a school and being of assistance to make it become reality. In March of 1 841 , Throated volunteered to teach a Sunday school class for women inmates at the East Cambridge Prison. When she entered the dark alls of the prison, she witnessed such atrocious sights that her life was forever changed. She observed prostitutes, drunks, retarded, and mentally ill inmates all kept together in unheated, sickening smelling cells.After witnessing the conditions of the jail she immediately took the matter into her own hands and presented it before the court. After a series of passionate arguments she finally won. She then started to visit jails all over Boston and soon her investigation extended over the complete state of Massachusetts. Finally she put together all the notes and observations she had collected wrought this time and composed a convincing letter to deliver to the Massachusetts legislature.Her persuasion was so powerful that she soon had solid influence with the legislature and funds were set aside to initiate the construction of Worcester State Hospital. (Throated 2). Her stance about the management of the mentally ill was revolutionary at the time; the popular belief being that the insane could never be cured. Throated did not know about what was essentially going on with these patients, but she knew enhancing their environment would not harm them. After accomplishing the same process in other states she decided to go after her dream.She sent a document to the United States Congress in 1848 asking for five million acres to be used for care of the mentally ill. In 1854 the bill passed and was approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate but was disappointedly vetoed by President Pierce. Throated realized she was physically and emotionally exhausted after the thirteen years of work for the mentally ill and decided to travel to Europe to rest. Once she arrived in Europe she failed to let herself recuperate and began inspecting jails there in addition.She trekked through thirteen countries making effective changes in the way Europeans dealt with the mentally ill just as she did in the United States. She returned to the states as our nation was on the verge of Civil War and as a consequence of her ? Yearning to be of assistance to others? (Marshall he served as the Superintendent of Union Army Nurses during the war. Throated Lynda Dixie? S career concluded with her peaceful death on July 1 7, 1887 in the state hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, the first hospital launched as a result of her labor.Throughout the time of American p rison reformation, major influences including the Auburn and Pennsylvania systems and Throated Dixie paved the way for jails and Institutions of today for order, structure, and labor. The Auburn system and Pennsylvania system during this time presented slight differences in the outcome of the prisoners thought most died in jail. Throated Dixie exceedingly changed the outlook and stereotypes of the mentally ill. She deserves an enormous amount of respect for devoting her life to people in the condition they were in and most of whom she had never et.The reformation of prisons in the sass was shaped through these three factors and owes them a good deal for the positive conclusion that has occurred over the years.