Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn as a “cradle of diversity,” welcoming people of all faiths and backgrounds. The reality is that labor strife and ethnic conflict are endemic features of Pennsylvania's history. Irish Catholic immigrants began to pour into Pennsylvania's northeastern anthracite coal mining region between 1850 and 1880. This very violent pre- and post- Civil War period engendered hatred and prejudice toward these Irish and culminated in the conviction and public executions (hangings) of 20 Irish men between 1877 and 1879 (the alleged Molly Maguire Conspiracy). This research utilizes primary records from Schuylkill County (PA) Prison (1853-1873) and documents (similar to contemporary incarceration patterns) the overimprisonment of foreign-born and minority groups that posed a threat to community power interests—in this case, the powerful coal and railroad interests who literally controlled the police (private company Coal and Iron Police), the jails, the courts, and the gallows.

Keywords

Ethnic conflict incarceration patterns social control county jail

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Blumstein, A. , Cohen, J. , & Nagin, D. (1977). The dynamics of a homeostatic punishment process. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 67, 317-330.

Campbell, P. (1992). A Molly Maguire story. Lawrenceville, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Crown, H. T. (2002). A Molly Maguire on trial: The Thomas Munley story. Frackville, PA: Broad Mountain.

Gido, R. (1985). The stability of punishment hypothesis: An analysis of New York State county jail admissions rates, 1927-1965. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, State University of New York, Albany.

Gido, R. (2004). Alexander Campbell's Molly Maguire trial: The miners and the Pinkertons. In F. Y. Bailey & S. Chermak (Eds.),Famous American crimes and trials (pp. 21-38). Westport, CT: Praeger.

Green, P. A. , & Allen, H. D. (1981-1982). Severity of societal response to crime: A synthesis of models. Law and Society Review,16, 181-205.

Josephson, M. (1934). The robber barons. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.

Kenny, K. (1998). Making sense of the Molly Maguires. New York: Oxford University Press.

Landon, D. C. (1997). Behind state and corporate shield: The PA coal and iron police. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

10.

Long, P. (1989). Where the sun never shines: A history of America's bloody coal industry. New York: Paragon.

11.

Marshall, I. H. , & Marshall, C. E. (1997). Immigrants, crime and prison commitments in the Netherlands: A time series analysis (1952-1988). Criminal Justice Policy Review, 8(1), 25-53.

12.

Miller, D. L. , & Sharpless, R. E. (1998). The kingdom of coal; Work, enterprise, and ethnic communities in the mine fields. Easton, PA: Canal History and Technology Press.

The Irish in Schuylkill County Prison

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References