Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs

Punishment in nineteenth-century America

Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs: Social Theory and the History of Punishment in Nineteenth-Century America

1997 Book jacket

Author| Mark Colvin
Country| United States
Subject| Penal theory and institutions, Punishment 1800 — 1899
Published| 1997
Publisher| St. Martin's Press
Media type| Print, e-book, audio
Pages| 294
ISBN| 9780312173272
OCLC| 36528434

Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs: Social Theory and the History of Punishment in Nineteenth-Century America is a non-fiction book written by Mark Colvin. It was published by St. Martin's Press in 1997. In this book, Colvin applies theoretical perspectives to changes in punishment that occurred in the United States penal system during the 19th century.[1][2][3][4]

## Synopsis[edit]

According to this book, as of 1998, over the past 200 years, the United States has put into service various institutions to punish criminals. Examples include: prisons (penitentiaries), institutions for rehabilitation (reformatories), and a system where prisoners were leased to private companies (convict lease). Various forces shaped these methods of punishment such as economic needs, influential power politics, and the cultural beliefs of the time.[5] Martha A. Myers, writing for The American Journal of Legal History says, "Multiple causal influences are always at work [because] human agency figures in each and every one of them."[5]

Hence Colvin, the author, explores how punishment has changed in America from a historical and a social theory perspective. He does this by looking at three specific examples (case studies) from the 1800s that show how people viewed punishment during this period.[1][2][4] The three specific cases are: penitentiary origins and expansion in the Northeastern United States; reevaluations in the Northern United States of how to treat women in custody, and the post-Civil War shifts in perspectives on punishment in the Southern United States.[1][2][4]

The book also illuminates the history of and the current state of punishment, the American criminal justice system, and the rehabilitation of offenders. Additionally, the author explores the difference between punishing criminals and trying to rehabilitate them. He also looks at how women were treated in reform institutions and how convict leasing and chain gangs in the South continued the practices of slavery, especially for black prisoners.[1][2][4]

### Women offenders[edit]

This segment of the book explores how women were punished, particularly with the rise of reformatories. Colvin argues that reformatories weren't simply a response to an increase in female crime. Instead, their appearance is related to a larger shift toward principles embodied in capitalism. This shift changed women's opportunities and their social standing.[5] Public confusion about women's roles and behavior appears to have caused the creation of these institutions by various social and charitable groups. These groups, with their specific moral views, ended up defining the characteristics of reformatories.[5] The pervasive idea of what a good woman should be (Cult of True Womanhood) and the values of the middle class (bourgeois moral order) were connected. These ideas heavily influenced who got sent to reformatories and what kind of punishments they received.[5]

## Social and economic forces[edit]

Colvin frames his narrative from four theoretical perspectives to ask why we punish people the way we do. The answer lies within a complex web of social and economic factors.[5] One view, from Émile Durkheim, emphasizes how punishment reflects a society's moral values, especially religious ideas. Another perspective, from Marxists, focuses on how punishment is tied to the market economy and ideas about social class.[5]

Michel Foucault adds the role of the government and its control systems. Finally, Norbert Elias suggests that overall changes in "civilizing sensibilities" have influenced how punishments are carried out.[5] These theories can be helpful tools for understanding how punishment systems in the US have changed over time. Colvin also discusses some of the limitations of each theory.[1]

He additionally assesses important reformers like Benjamin Rush, Thomas Eddy, Eliza Farnham, and Zebulon Brockway. He shows how the goals and approaches of reformers generationally changed over time. For example, he analyzes how Josephine Shaw Lowell, born in the mid-19th century, bridged the gap between the earlier religious reformers and the later, more professionalized reformers.[1]

## Reception[edit]

Reviews of this work are mixed:

Myra C. Glenn, writing for The American Historical Review says: "Despite my criticisms of Colvin's book, it is one of the few texts that provides undergraduate students with a readable, concise history of punishment and penal institutions in the nineteenth-century United States. If used judiciously by teachers, it can challenge students to think critically about a crucial subject."

Michael Donnelly, writing for Social Forces says that Colvin's book might be easier to understand for students because he simplifies complex topics. He does a good job of bringing together different historical sources, but it would be even better if the book had pictures and charts to make it more engaging and easier to read.[2]

Michael Meranze, writing for Law and History Review says: "[This book] emerged out of a pedagogical dilemma — the difficulty Colvin confronted in presenting the diverse array of historical and sociological studies on the history of punishment...in a coherent and manageable way. Colvin has brought together an impressive amount of historiographical and sociological material in a search for that coherence. His work clarifies issues that need to be confronted if a compelling historical sociology of punishment is to be written."[4]

## See also[edit]

* Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault
* The Rise of the Penitentiary by Adam J. Hirsch
* The Rise of the Penitentiary in New York by W. David Lewis
* The History of United States prison systems

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Glenn, Myra C. (1998). "Reviewed work: Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs: Social Theory and the History of Punishment in Nineteenth-Century America, Mark Colvin". The American Historical Review. 103 (5): 1697–1698. doi:10.2307/2650127. JSTOR 2650127.
2. ^ a b c d e Donnelly, Michael (1999). "Reviewed work: Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs: Social Theory and the History of Punishment in Nineteenth-Century America., Mark Colvin". Social Forces. 77 (4): 1648–1649. doi:10.2307/3005902. JSTOR 3005902.
3. ^ Hall, Robert B.; Scheidl, Leopold G. (1939). "The Soils of Japan". Geographical Review. 29 (1): 166–167. Bibcode:1939GeoRv..29..166H. doi:10.2307/210080. JSTOR 210080.
4. ^ a b c d e Meranze, Michael (1999). "Reviewed work: Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs: Social Theory and the History of Punishment in Nineteenth-Century America, Mark Colvin". Law and History Review. 17 (3): 630–632. doi:10.2307/744393. JSTOR 744393. S2CID 200088996.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Myers, Martha A. (1998). "Reviewed work: Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and Chain Gangs: Social Theory and the History of Punishment in Nineteenth-Century America, Mark Colvin". The American Journal of Legal History. 42 (4): 441–442. doi:10.2307/846058. JSTOR 846058.

## Further reading[edit]

* 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.
* Milchman, Alan; Rosenberg, Alan (2015). "Reviewed work: On the Government of the Living, Michel Foucault, Graham Burchell". The Review of Politics. 77 (4): 683–687. doi:10.1017/S0034670515000674. JSTOR 43671113. S2CID 152265185.
* Daems, TOM (2011). "A Peculiar Sociology of Punishment". Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. 31 (4): 805–823. doi:10.1093/ojls/gqr016. JSTOR 41418843.
* Garland, David (1990). "Frameworks of Inquiry in the Sociology of Punishment". The British Journal of Sociology. 41 (1): 1–15. doi:10.2307/591014. JSTOR 591014.
* Smandych, Russell C.; Adamson, C. X.; Valverde, Mariana (1991). "Reviewed work: Punishment and Modern Society by David Garland". The Canadian Journal of Sociology. 16 (2): 205–212. doi:10.2307/3341276. JSTOR 3341276.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* ISBN 9780312173272

*[OCLC]: Online Computer Library Center number