Asylum/Prison Reform

Asylum/Prison Reform

In 1831, French writer Alex de Tocqueville traveled to America the United States to study it's penitentiary system. After observing prisoners who were physically punished or isolated for an extended period of time, de Tocqueville concluded that "While society in the United States gives the example of the most extended liberty, the prisoners of the same country offer the spectacle of the most complete despotism." Reformers quickly looked to fix the issue. One reformer visited a Massachusetts house of correction and was shocked to see that jails housed mentally ill people. Reformers persuaded nine southern states to set up public hospitals for the mentally ill. Prison reformers emphasized the idea of rehabilitation, treatment that might reform the sick or imprisoned person to a useful position in society. Revivalists thought that this would provide hope for everyone.