What Kinds of People are in Prison?

This is a booking form for the Maine State Prison in Thomaston. Booking forms were used to record people’s entry into the prison. They contained information like fingerprints that could identify them.

This form belonged to Austin H. MacCormick (1893 – 1979). He arrived at the prison on August 30, 1915. At the time, he was a student at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He was studying prisons. An author named Paul Douglas asked MacCormick if he would go undercover as a prisoner to help with a book about state prisons.

MacCormick agreed. He went to the prison for a week and lived in cell 67. He spent his time at the prison building relationships with the prisoners to learn about their lives. He also noticed how the prison worked.

He used the information he learned to show the truth about prison conditions and fight for change in prisons across America.

This is a chart from the 1905 Maine State Prison report. It shows what jobs people held before they came into the prison.

All of the people included in this report are men – women of the time mostly had different kinds of jobs.

Notice how certain jobs have higher numbers than others. For example, there are more laborers and farmers than bakers or cigar makers.

What is a laborer? A laborer is an unskilled worker. They usually have to do physical tasks and are not paid very much. Being “unskilled” is the most important part of what defines a laborer – they do not need as much special knowledge. For example, a skilled worker like a carpenter must train and practice to be able to design and build something. A laborer could start a new job without previous experience, though their work is still difficult and important.