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Their Sisters' Keepers: Women's Prison Reform in America, 1830-1930
This study of prison reform adds a new chapter to the history of women's struggle for justice in America
In the early 1970s, American correctional officers began to experiment with a seemingly new reform: sexual integration of the prisons. In truth, this "new" system began to dissolve a much earlier reform. The very prisons that are now being integrated were built--after a hard fought campaign by nineteenth-century feminists--as separate prisons run by and for women only.
In the mid-nineteenth century, reformers rejected the belief that "fallen women" could not be redeemed. Instead they argued that only sympathetic care provided by another woman might rehabilitate the female prisoner. The ultimate result was a sexually segregated penal system that is still the norm today.
Their Sisters' Keepers traces the growth and change of the women's prison reform movement throughout a crucial century. It points out the successes and failures of the movement while underscoring an irony of history: the prisons that existed to transform inmates into traditional women provided a base for the emancipation of the keepers, women who built professional careers when few of their sex were allowed to do so.
In the early 1970s, American correctional officers began to experiment with a seemingly new reform: sexual integration of the prisons. In truth, this "new" system began to dissolve a much earlier reform. The very prisons that are now being integrated were built--after a hard fought campaign by nineteenth-century feminists--as separate prisons run by and for women only.
In the mid-nineteenth century, reformers rejected the belief that "fallen women" could not be redeemed. Instead they argued that only sympathetic care provided by another woman might rehabilitate the female prisoner. The ultimate result was a sexually segregated penal system that is still the norm today.
Their Sisters' Keepers traces the growth and change of the women's prison reform movement throughout a crucial century. It points out the successes and failures of the movement while underscoring an irony of history: the prisons that existed to transform inmates into traditional women provided a base for the emancipation of the keepers, women who built professional careers when few of their sex were allowed to do so.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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About the author
Estelle B. Freedman
16 books37 followersEstelle Freedman is an American historian. Her research has explored the history of women and social reform, including feminism and women's prison reform, as well as the history of sexuality, including the history of sexual violence.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 29, 2013
A fascinating look into the state of incarcerated prisons and women's prison reform in the US during this time period. The author's research is evident, and the chapters are full of quotations from prison officials, inmates, and reformers of the day.
January 3, 2017
Very meticulously researched and a big help to me as I begin to research this subject! Thanks, Estelle.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews