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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper highlights points from On the Penitentiary System in the United States and Its Application in France by Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont. The fact that the U.S. was a model country at the time is noted as is the fact that authors examine the concept of isolation and its relevance. Finally, early criminology theory is examined. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RT13_SA019Pen.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
de Beaumont make a great deal of inferences. When the pair arrived in the United States during the latter part of the nineteenth century, they came to study the prison
system in the United States. In examining the penitentiary system in America there are several striking points one can glean from the authors observations. One is that the duo came
to America to study the penal system in order to provide useful data for France. This is relevant to the discussion as it provides a flavor of the day. History
becomes pertinent in that it seems that America was, and still is, an exemplary union for others to follow. Thus, the fact that the pair traveled across the Atlantic
to study the United States prison system is telling. It implies that setting up a prison system properly, with the use of the latest ideas, was something important to the
people of the day. Authors did note that "to study American penitentiaries would probably not have been accepted had not such an inquiry appeared useful to the French government" (Tocqueville
& Gustave, 1964, p. xvi). While the ulterior motive is certainly a point of interest, the most powerful idea to emanate from this fact is that the United States was
more advanced in containing the criminal element than other states at the time. If not, why would the pair go to America to study the problem? It seemed to have
been well established that the United States was better at handling criminals then. Today, many point at America and call it a violent society, no longer blaming the criminal but
rather blaming the nation. The attitude back then was markedly different. A second point pertains to what the authors found after the study began. They noted that earlier in the
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