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Alternative View of the Past: Re-Visiting the Mutual Welfare League (1913-1923)

NCJ Number
163565
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 46 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1995) Pages: 169-174
Author(s)
H S Davidson
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Histories of prison education published in major research forums have overemphasized the importance of reformer motivations, the conflict between educational goals and "antieducational" forces, and immediate political and economic events influencing prison reform.
Abstract
The author emphasizes the importance of understanding how indirect social conditions shaped reformer ideals and their struggles. He examines the impact of complex forces on prison education and the development of Mutual Welfare Leagues during the 1913-1923 period. The author views the leagues as part of a wider self-government movement promoted in schools, factories, and prisons to control labor and social unrest that accompanied the rapid growth of industrialization at the turn of the century. The self-government movement was facilitated by progressives as an alternative to socialism and an autocratic reaction to socialism by industrialists, and organized efforts of prisoners were important in the efforts of progressives. Ways in which the history of prison education is influenced by social dynamics are discussed. 45 references and 3 notes

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