“A Disgrace to the State”: Reforming Local Jails in the Late 19th Century

• In Event: Historical Perspectives on Crime and Punishment II

Abstract

This paper examines efforts to reform local jails in the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. Employing a combination of official reports and reform society publications, it documents reformers’ attitudes towards local institutions, their reform objectives, and their strategies towards reform. In particular, this work highlights the transition from Penitentiary Era optimism regarding the utility and perfectibility of jails to Reformatory Era cynicism and scorn regarding county penal institutions. While their predecessors attempted to convince local authorities to embrace model penal practices through exhortation, late 19th century reformers adopted a contrary strategy to remake the jail. Rather than encouragement, they embraced direct efforts, including state legislation, to constrain the autonomy of local authorities to design, construct, and administer county penal institutions. Furthermore, while Jacksonian Era thinkers considered the local jail to be an essential companion to the state penitentiary, indignation among Reformatory Era penal thinkers propelled them to increasingly question the value and continued existence of the local jail within the pantheon of penal institutions.

Author

• Stephen E. Tillotson, Indiana University, Bloomington