Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What kinds of work did prisoners perform under the Pennsylvania system?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
prison
Mount Olive Correctional Complex, a maximum-security prison in Mount Olive, West Virginia.
Under the Pennsylvania system, prisoners were initially kept in total solitary confinement to foster penitence and reformation. However, this approach was soon modified to include the performance of handicraft work, which inmates carried out alone within their individual cells.123
The types of work performed by prisoners included:
- Shoemaking12
- Weaving12
- Carpentry2
Unlike the Auburn system, where inmates labored together in congregate workshops, the Pennsylvania system required prisoners to work in isolation to prevent contact with other convicts, which was believed to minimize the risk of criminal influence.32