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John Oglethorpe
As the founder of Georgia and a politician, James Oglethorpe led several committee meetings on prison reform in Georgia, that led to the release of debtors, imprisoned by the established British government. His idea that debtors prisons were an unjust form of punishment would later catch on in the other states and influence the federal government. -
Imprisonment of Debtors
English idea of imprisoning the debtors was continued by the federal government even after the British had lost power. The usage of this punishment in the colonies endured into the newly established United States government. Debtors would be arrested, tried by either the state, county or town, and if the debt couldn't be paid under a reasonable payment plan, they were jailed. -
Louis Dwight
Along with Dorothea Dix, Dwight led a campaign against the current prison system and institututions of Massachusetts (deamng them filthy and unsatisfactory). His push for prison reforms and the imprsonment of mentally ill people and debtors would later cause the removal of debtors imprisonment as state law. -
Federal government no longer imrisons debtors
In 1833, the United States changed its policy and no longer federally imprisoned citizens based upon debts. However, states still issued arrest warrants to tax collectors who were looking for debtors -
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea believed in compassion towards prisoners and renovation of prison cells (i.e: clean up the filth and other gross stuff).. She demanded reform of the prisons and the prison system. Her petition to the Massachusetts state legislature, regarding the state of prisons altered the views of many politicians. Her work aided the abolition of the debtors prisons through persistent demand for change and justice. -
Virginia converts debtor prisons
In 1849, Virginia official abolished imprisonment as a form of punishment for debtors. This was a big deal because Virginia was home to the three largest debtor prisons in the United States. This was a turning point in the battle for debtor imprisonment. -
State Constitutional Prohibition
By the 1850s, most states ,such as Minnesota, added clauses to their state constitutions that prohibited imprisonment due to debt
