Routledge - Crime and the Nation: Philadelphia Prison History

Explore the deep connection between fiction writing and national identity in the late eighteenth century with Crime and the Nation. This historical study focuses on the years between 1786 and 1800, a period when public debates regarding crime and punishment changed the landscape of American culture. During the 1780s and 1790s, the rise of new fiction coincided with the birth of the world's first penitentiary-style prison in Philadelphia, which opened in 1790. This book examines how jurists, reformers, and writers viewed the criminal during this transformative era. As the concept of the criminal changed, they became figures of fascination and tools for community edification. This work provides a detailed look at how the development of new prison models and the evolution of popular fiction worked together to shape the American experience. It is an essential read for those interested in the history of the United States, legal reform, and the origins of popular culture in Philadelphia.