ABSTRACT
American conditions before the Revolution sharply restricted the number of individuals serving prison terms. Most jails and prisons existed for the temporary
holding of offenders, either in anticipation of trial or after sentencing and be-
fore imposition of capital punishment. Lesser crimes were punished by physical means, such as whipping, branding, and mutilation. It was not uncommon for
the culprit to be sentenced to serve his victim, in labor, for a period
Table 9.1 Time Line: Early American Penology
proportional to the magnitude of the crime. In labor-scarce early America, im-
prisonment simply was not a wise use of human resources. Burgeoning enter-
prise eagerly absorbed lesser criminals into the workforce and at the same time managed to absorb the substantial number of English convicts who were
exported to the colonies in lieu of capital punishment.
