Beware of the 'Evil American Monster': Upper Canadian Views on the Need for a Penitentiary, 1830-1834

• NCJ Number: 130414
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 33 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1991) Pages: 125-147
• Author(s): R C Smandych
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 23 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Canada Solicitor General
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: Earlier draft of paper presented at the 1989 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Reno, Nevada

Annotation

Studies on the emergence of the penitentiary in 19th century Ontario, Canada, have focused on why Upper Canadians enacted legislation in the 1830's to construct a penitentiary based on the Auburn model.

Abstract

Historians commonly agree that Upper Canadians living in the 1830's began to view crime as a serious problem and considered the construction of an Auburn-model penitentiary as an important part of the solution. On the other hand, some Upper Canadians opposed the penitentiary and expressed misgivings about the "success" of American penitentiaries and about the politics of penal reform in the 1830's. Acceptance of the penitentiary by Upper Canadians was the result of conflict and compromise between reform advocates and their opponents. One compromise was that in no case would the products of prison labor be sold below current prices. The historical context of penal reform in Canada is discussed as well as the extent to which penal reform developments of the 1830's reflected elements of historical continuity in the way social control was exerted over the Ontario population. 36 references and 6 notes (Author abstract modified)