Chapter 3

The History of
Corrections in
America

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

 The History of Corrections
 The Colonial Period
 The Arrival of the Penitentiary
 The Pennsylvania System
 The New York ( Auburn ) System
 Debating the Systems
 Development or Prisons in the South and West
 Southern Penology
 Western Penology
 The Reformatory Movement
 Cincinnati, 1870
 Elmira Reformatory
 Lasting Reforms

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

 The History of Corrections Cont.

 The Rise of the Progressives

 Individualized Treatment and the Positivist
School
 Progressive Reforms
 The Rise of the Medical Model
 From Medical Model to Community Model
 TheCrime Control Model: The Pendulum
Swings Again
 The Decline of Rehabilitation
 The Emergence of Crime Control
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
 Evolution of punishment
in America, 1600 – 2000 Flow Chart

Medical
Crime
Community Control
Model Model
1930s - 1960s 1960s - 1970s Model
1970s - 2000

Progressive
Period Colonial
1890s - 1930s Period
1600s - 1790s

Reformatory Prisons Arrival of the

Movement in South Penitentiary
& West 1790s - 1860s
1870s - 1890s
1800’s
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
 William Penn

 William Penn (1644–1718) English Quaker who arrived in

Philadelphia in 1682. Succeeded in getting Pennsylvania to
adopt “The Great Law” emphasizing hard labor in a house of
correction as punishment for most crimes

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

“Penitentiary”
 an institution intended to isolate
prisoners from society and from
one another so that they could
reflect on their past misdeeds,
repent, and thus undergo
reformation.

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

 Benjamin Rush

 Benjamin Rush (1745–1813) Physician, patriot, signer of

the Declaration of Independence, and social reformer, Rush
advocated the penitentiary as replacement for capital and
corporal punishment.

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

principles of the “penitentiary”
 isolate prisoner from bad influences of
society - liquor, temptation, people
 penance & silent contemplation
 productive labor
 reform (thinking & work habits)
 return to society, renewed
 key = solitary confinement
 isolate from contagion
 foster quiet reflection
 punishment, since man is social animal
 cheap  shorter sentence, fewer guards
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“Separate Confinement”

 A penitentiary system developed in Pennsylvania in which

each inmate was held in isolation from other inmates, with
all activities, including craft work, carried on in the cells.

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

 competing models

 Pennsylvania system
 “Separate system”
 solitary confinement
 eat, sleep, work in cell
 religious instruction
 reflection upon crimes
 reform through
 salvation
 religious enlightenment
 model for Europe
 e.g.
 Walnut St. Jail
 Western Penitentiary
 Eastern State Pen.

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

 competing models
 Pennsylvania system
 “Separate system”
 solitary confinement
 eat, sleep, work in cell
 religious instruction
 reflection upon crimes
 reform through
 salvation
 religious enlightenment
 model for Europe
 e.g.
 Walnut St. Jail
 Western Penitentiary
 Eastern State Pen.
 New York system
 evolved into
“Congregate system”
 hard labor in shops-day
 solitary confinement-night
 strict discipline
 rule of silence
 reform through
 good work habits
 discipline
 model for US-economical
 e.g., Auburn Prison, 1816
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
and the winner is…?
 Pennsylvania/Philadelphia model
 Europeans applauded and replicated
 New York/Auburn model
 won out in US; more cost-effective labor; state
negotiated contracts with manufacturers
 but neither curbed crime nor reformed offr’s
 various reforms tinkered w/ look, purpose
 but icon of high-walled fortress remained: Attica,
Quentin, Folsom, Sing Sing

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

Southern penology
 Devastation of war and economic hardship
produced 2 results:
 Lease system
 Private business negotiated with state for labor & care of
inmates--Kentucky (1825)
 Penal farms
 State-run plantations which grew crops
 To feed inmates
 To sell on free market

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

Western developments
 penology in west not greatly influenced by the
ideologies of the east
 prior to statehood, prisoners held in territorial
facilities or in federal military posts and prisons
 1852: San Quentin - California’s 1st prison
 1877: Salem, Oregon prison - Auburn model
 western states discontinued use of lease
system as states entered into the union
 e.g. Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

the Reformatory Movement
(1870s - 1890s)

 product of disillusionment with oppressive

penitentiary system
 focus remained  inmate change!
 key features:
 indeterminate sentences > fixed
 offender classification should be based on
character & institutional behavior
 use early release as incentive to reform

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

 Hallmarks of the
reformatory movement
 National Prison Association
 precursor: American Correctional Asso.
 strong religious influence (still)
 Cincinnati meeting,1870
 Declaration of Principles
“reformation is a work of time: and a benevolent
regard to the good of the criminal himself, as well
as to the protection of society, requires that his
sentence be long enough for the reformatory
process to take effect.”
 e.g., Machonochie, Crofton, Brockway
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“Reformatory”
 an institution for young offenders emphasizing
training, a mark system of classification, indeterminate
sentences, and parole

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

“mark system”
 a system for calculating when an offender will be
released from custody, based on both the crime & his
behavior in prison
 devised by Alexander Maconochie (England),
at Norfolk Island penal settlement (off Australia, 1840)
 at sentencing, offender is ‘given’ a number of “marks,”
based on offense severity
(a “debt” to society, to be “paid” off)
 for release, offender must earn marks via
 voluntary labor
 participation in educational, religious programs
 good behavior
 adopted in Ireland, never England
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
the Irish system
 developed by Sir Walter Crofton
 derived from Maconochie’s mark system
 four-stage program of graduated release,
based on offender performance
 all sentences served in four stages;
 move “up” w/ accumulation of marks
1.  solitary confinement - all start here
2.  public works prison - begin earning marks
3.  intermediate stage - (like half-way house)
after earning enough marks
4.  ticket of leave - conditional release
= precursor of modern parole
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
“reformatory”
Zebulon Brockway

 an institution for young offenders emphasizing training, a mark

system of classification, indeterminate sentences, and parole:
1st time felons (16-30)
 diagnosis, individualized treatment, reform

 operation:
  intake interview: determine causes of crime
  individualized work & education program
  mark system of classification (work, school, behavior).
move up OR down, with accumulation of marks:
•begin at grade 2
•can earn 9 marks/mo. for 6 months:
• grade 1; or
• grade 3;
•then, 3 mo. good behavior:  grade 2 again.
 administrators determine release date
 Elmira Reformatory (Zebulon Brockway; 1876-1900)
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
Reformatory movement ends
 failed to reform (like penitentiary)
 brutality
 corruption
 not administered as planned
 but, important features survived:
 inmate classification
 rehabilitation programs
 indeterminate sentences
 parole

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

 the Progressive Era
(1890s - 1930s)

 age of reform: set tone for American

social thought & political action until 1960s!
 condemned ills of new urban society--big
business, big industry, urban blight
  faith in science to find answers to
crime, criminal behavior, treatment
  new faith in government action to
eliminate social problems--slums, crime
 trends of period
 industrialization
 urbanization
 technological change
 scientific advancement
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
 the “Progressives”
 socially conscious, politically active, mostly
upper-class reformers of early 1900s
 attacked excesses of emergent 20th century -
big business, industry, urban society
 believed science (positivism) + state
intervention could/should solve social &
political problems
 advocated “treatment according to the needs of
the offender,” not “punishment according to
severity of the crime”
 subscribed to “positivism”

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

“positivist school”

 an approach to criminology and

other social sciences based on the
assumption that human behavior is a
product of biological, economic,
psychological, and social factors,
and that the scientific method can be
applied to ascertain the causes of
individual behavior
 subscribed to by Progressives

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

principles of Positivist School

 behavior(including crime) is
NOT the product of free will.
 behaviorstems from factors
beyond control of the individual
 criminals can be treated so they
can lead crime-free lives.
 treatment must focus on the
individual & his/her problem(s).

Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th

“progressive” reforms
 2 strategies for CJ reform:
 improve general social, economic conditions
that seem to breed crime
 rehabilitate individual offenders
4 planks in “progressive” platform:
probation (John Augustus, 1841)
indeterminate sentencing (by 1920s, 37 states)
parole (by 1920s, 44 states; 80% of releases)
juvenile courts (1899, Cook County)
 By 1970s, most of these enlightened & well-meaning
reforms seen as having failed to live up to their
promise
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
The Medical Model
(1930s - 1960s)

a model of corrections positing that criminal

behavior is caused by social, psychological,
biological deficiencies that require medical
treatment
 first serious efforts to implement truly medical
strategies aimed at scientifically classifying,
treating, rehabilitating criminal offenders
 e.g. “medical” programs & institutions
 psychology (Karl Menninger)
 Maryland Patuxent Institution, 1955
 sexual psychopath, sociopath laws
 crime as sickness
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
 The Community Model
(1960s - 1970s)

 model of corrections positing goal of CJS: to

reintegrate offender into community
 key features
 prisons should be avoided;
prison = artificial environment;
prison frustrates crime-free lifestyle
 need to focus on offender’s adjustment into
society; not just on psychological treatment
 probation
 intermediate sanctions;
(alternatives to incarceration)
 parole
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th
 The Crime Control Model
(1970s - 2000)

 less ambitious, less optimistic, less forgiving

view of man &
ability of CJS to change him
 crime better controlled by more incarceration &
strict supervision
 precipitating factors
 public concern over rising crime in ‘60s
 disillusionment with treatment
 public clamor for longer sentences
 distrust of broad discretion given to correctional &
parole authorities
Clear & Cole, American Corrections, 8th