Prison Reform 1800s

In prisons today, they are large, guarded, organized penitentiaries that rehabilitate prisoners in a controlled and heavily guarded environment while also doing it in humanitarian ways. This system of prisons allows people who have committed crimes to learn from their mistakes and become better people after their sentence. This wasn't always the case, however, before the antebellum period, prisons were unorganized, poorly funded, and run, and their morals were completely based on physically harming prisoners to “teach them a lesson.” Before this movement, the crime rates across the United States surged with a large increase of immigrants moving to the country. Due to this, there was a large need for a change in the prison system so reformers

More prisons were soon being made and prisoners were separated for their certain needs so they could get the specific help that they needed. Over this period, many government officials and reformers began to ban old punishments that were formerly used in the prison system such as whipping, and completely shifted to a modern prison system that helped prisoners overcome their mistakes and become functioning members of society. Some historians argue that the reform movements of the 19th century were motivated to create a better society for all, while others believe the movements were used as a means to control certain groups of people. The Prison Reform Movement in 19th-century America was motivated by humanitarian concerns evident through the development of prison systems that focused on rehabilitation, religious teaching, and

She's the one who lives. The first step in reform was to separate prisoners by their specific needs and build more prisons across the nation. In an article by StMU Scholars discussing Prison and asylum reform, it states “Dix’s movement for the creation of asylums sparked the reforms of such institutions across the world, causing wholesale reevaluations of current institutions and the adoption of more appropriate facilities for the betterment and care of the mentally ill.” (Source D, pg#1). This shows that Doretha Dix’s influence to organize prisoners by their certain needs was an idea adopted and used throughout the country, creating the prison system later known as the “Auburn” and the “Pen Dix, as well as other notable reformers like Thomas Warton, saw crime spike in the 19th century as the country was growing with rapid immigration and knew that change needed to be made. Most of the criminals needed help rather than to be punished and demoralized, so due to this Dix advocated setting up special kinds of prisons for those who were mentally unwell. These now patients of mental asylum are taught to cope with their problems with things such as religious teachings and jobs to ease them back into society. The prison reform movement was for humanitarian concerns as reformers and government officials began to ban previous laws that legalized physical punishment on prisoners as it dehumanized the