How Did Dorothea Dix's Prison Reform

Penitence over Punishment: Reforming America’s Prisons From the New Deal to the Great Society, America has developed many government programs meant to benefit the American people. Dorothea Dix, one of the first famous prison reformers from America's’ Antebellum period from 1840-1860, saw that there were many problems in America’s prison system that she had to stand up for. Before her work, prison was viewed purely as a source of punishment and showed very little mercy to its captives. This strict disciplinary approach led to the disturbing disaster in Auburn Prison where 80 men undergoing strict solitary sentences either suffered from mental breakdowns or committed suicide(“Prison”) Through Dorothea Dix’s hard work and leadership, she reformed
Both Liberals and Conservatives wanted the federal government to take a stand against crime. However, they both disagreed in how it should be done. Conservatives preferred “tougher” laws that focused on punishing criminals harshly to disincentivize crime. This could mean longer prison times, harsher conditions such as solitary confinement, and increased support of police and other law enforcement. On the other hand, liberals tended to support laws that help prevent crime, unjust punishments, and can help rehabilitate inmates . Bill and Hillary Clinton saw this as an opportunity to get elected and took full advantage of it. Bill Clinton ran as a democrat but campaigned to be tough on crime, trying to get support from both sides. Hillary Rodham Clinton famously called an African American teenager accused of murder a “superpredator”, instilling fear into America and pushing the need for action to be taken against these criminals(13th). As Americans grew fearful. They turned to Bill Clinton and elected him as the 42nd President of the United States of America in the election of 1992. Being a democrat with a democrat majority in Congress, he was poised to pass decisive legislation. He delivered on his promise to be tough on criminals by passing the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. A humongous bill of over one thousand pages
San Quentin is undergoing a project called the prison university project that gives prisoners access to an education, in the hopes of setting them on the right path. The mission that San Quentin State Prison claims their Prison University Project to be is to provide higher education to their inmates as well as support the general cause for access to higher education for all prisoners and to raise awareness for the need for correctional education and criminal