Introduction: The Idea of Leavenworth and the Prison of Democracy
Sara M. Benson
Chapter from the book: Benson, S. 2019. The Prison of Democracy: Race, Leavenworth, and the Culture of Law.
Part of
Chapter from the book: Benson, S. 2019. The Prison of Democracy: Race, Leavenworth, and the Culture of Law.
The chapter begins by introducing the idea of Leavenworth as one transmitted through popular culture, geography, and architecture. It suggests that the idea of Leavenworth began long before the carceral state was supposedly federalized in 1930, with the formation of the Bureau of Prisons. The introduction challenges theories of the carceral state and mass incarceration that begin in the 1970s, and it suggests that a genealogical approach reveals the way in which mass incarceration is at the heart of the American democratic state.
Benson, S. 2019. Introduction: The Idea of Leavenworth and the Prison of Democracy. In: Benson, S, The Prison of Democracy. California: University of California Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.66.a
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Published on April 16, 2019