Research

Administrative History

Keepers of the State Reformatory at Elmira considered Italian immigrants to be among the new "dangerous classes" threatening the safety and security of American society. Along with Jews and African-Americans, Italians were considered biologically and psychologically inferior to Americans of northern and western European descent. Progressive era reformers doubted the capacity of youthful offenders from among these groups to respond to the reformatory system. In addition, state prison authorities lamented that immigrant groups were swelling the ranks of the state's incarcerated and believed that the federal government should bear a greater share in the cost of custodial supervision.