Up the river: A history of Sing Sing prison in the nineteenth century.
Item
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Title
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Up the river: A history of Sing Sing prison in the nineteenth century.
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Identifier
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AAI9946209
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identifier
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9946209
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Creator
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Panetta, Roger George.
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Contributor
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Adviser: David Rosner
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Date
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1999
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, United States | Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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The dissertation will study the history of Sing Sing prison from 1828--1898 with special emphasis on the major themes appropriate to each period beginning with the European antecedents of the penitentiary and the argument for American penal uniqueness. Newgate prison, New York State's first penitentiary which influenced the shape and form of Sing Sing, and embodied many of the attitudes of the reform ideals of the new republic is examined. Newgate's decline and its slide away from reform ideals which established the context for the second wave of penitentiary building and the construction of Sing Sing in 1825 and its early years, including the penal theories, timing, design, and site selection is outlined. The administration of Robert Wiltse, who in the 1830s helped fix Sing Sing's tough regime and the place of corporal punishment within the institution is discussed.;Jacksonian reform reached Sing Sing in the early 1840s and brought a new regime to the prison including programs in education and religion and milder treatment and phrenology. The work of the reformers and the rapid collapse of their effort will provides an opportunity to clarify the meaning of penal reform and connect Sing Sing's history to a continuum of reform. Central to the organization of Sing Sing was the system of contract labor which for most of the nineteenth century was under assault from workers and employers on the outside. The role and meaning of disciplined work at Sing Sing and the demise of the contract system is reviewed.;In the second half of the nineteenth century Sing Sing became overcrowded, custodial, and volatile. The concluding chapter will explore the decline of Sing Sing and the character of the inmate sub-culture and the inmate's efforts to resist.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
