Punishment, Prisons, and Patriarchy: Liberty and Power in the Early American Republic

Mark E. Kann's examination of penal reforms following the American Revolution has convinced him "that first-generation penal reformers set the price of liberty for mainstream Americans at the perpetuation of patriarchal political power over marginal Americans" (p. 18). By linking patr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of American History 2006, Vol.93 (1), p.195-196
Main Author: Rowe, G. S.
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
American Revolution
Criminal justice
Foucault, Michel
Freedoms
Nonfiction
Political power
Politics
Prisons
Reinforcement
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Mark E. Kann's examination of penal reforms following the American Revolution has convinced him "that first-generation penal reformers set the price of liberty for mainstream Americans at the perpetuation of patriarchal political power over marginal Americans" (p. 18). By linking patriarchal political power with the promotion of liberty, by arguing that rehabilitated convicts would consent, in retrospect, to the use of coercion, and by concealing prison realities from citizens, the reformers established practices that continue today, according to Kami, and explain the "horrors" of modern prisons.
ISSN:0021-8723
1945-2314
1936-0967
DOI:10.2307/4486096