080 Liberty's Prisoners: Prisons & Prison Life in Early America

American prisons are overcrowded. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and nearly 2.5 million Americans are serving prison sentences.

Nearly all politicians agree that we need to reform the American prison system, but they disagree on how to do it.

Can gaining historical perspective on this present-day problem help us solve it?

Today, we investigate early American prisons and prison life with Jen Manion, an Assistant Professor of History at Connecticut College and author of Liberty’s Prisoners: Carceral Culture in Early America.

Show Notes: http://www.benfranklinsworld.com/080

Helpful Show Links

Help Support Ben Franklin's World Crowdfunding Campaign

Ask the Historian

Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page

Join the Ben Franklin's World Community

Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter

Ben Franklin's World iOS App

Ben Franklin's World Android App

*Books purchased through this link will help support the production of Ben Franklin's World.