Describe the makeup and ideals of the National Prison Congress of 1870.

Basically, the National Prison Congress brought forth many ideas of how penology should work in America along with the various ways to make prison a safe place for criminals and the ideals of how to handle prisoner's reformatory discipline while behind bars. In fact, the National Prison Congress experimented with different techniques that allowed the world to sit in on the conversations that took place to see what was working in America and how the …

…serving their sentences. He also felt that given the prisons area, an industrial or agricultural establishment could be used in two ways; to give inmates a chance to learn a trade and the profits to go back to the institution. Brockway's ideas made him key in his field and he was able to preside over Elmira in 1877. Reference: Johnson, H. & Wolfe, N. (2003). History of Criminal Justice. Anderson Publishing Co., Third edition. Pg. 255 - 57