American Purgatory: Prison Imperialism and the Rise of Mass Incarceration

by Benjamin D. Weber

A groundbreaking look at how America exported mass incarceration around the globe, from a rising young historian “ American Purgatory will forever change how we understand the rise of mass incarceration. It will forever change how we understand this country.” —Clint Smith, bestselling author of How the Word Is A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

In this explosive new book, historian Benjamin Weber reveals how the story of American prisons is inextricably linked to the expansion of American power around the globe.

A vivid work of hidden history that spans the wars to subjugate Native Americans in the mid-nineteenth century, the conquest of the western territories, and the creation of an American empire in Panama, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, American Purgatory reveals how “prison imperialism”—the deliberate use of prisons to control restive, subject populations—is written into our national DNA, extending through to our modern era of mass incarceration. Weber also uncovers a surprisingly rich history of prison resistance, from the Seminole Chief Osceola to Assata Shakur—one that invites us to rethink the scope of America’s long freedom struggle.

Weber’s brilliantly documented text is supplemented by original maps highlighting the global geography of prison imperialism, as well as illustrations of key figures in this history by the celebrated artist Ayo Scott. For readers of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow , here is a bold new effort to tell the full story of prisons and incarceration—at home and abroad—as well as a powerful future vision of a world without prisons.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, American History, United States

304 pages, Hardcover

Published October 3, 2023

About the author

Benjamin Weber is a historian and African American studies professor at the University of California, Davis. He has worked at the Vera Institute of Justice, Alternate ROOTS, the Marcus Garvey Papers Project, and as a public high school teacher in Los Angeles where he was named the NCSS Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the United States. The author of American Purgatory (The New Press, 2023), he lives in Northern California.

Reviews

[Jamie Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

We love mass incarceration here in America. This is one of my favorite things to study because it really is about controlling the masses. When gender, religion, and propaganda aren't working there is always mass incarceration.
They build bigger prisons instead of finding ways to help people.
So yeah I was excited to read this one.
I did not know about the black fort before reading this book, just another way history classes have completely failed me.

I think I need this in a physical copy. I need a few rereads to absorb all of it.

[Andrea Wenger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book unveils the concept of "prison imperialism" in American history: the strategy of using incarceration to control populations during westward expansion, the 19th-century Native American wars, and the acquisition of overseas territories. Tracing this concept's influence on modern mass incarceration, the narrative prompts us to reconsider the scope of America's enduring freedom struggle by highlighting prison resistance figures like Osceola and Assata Shakur.

The argument behind this book is fascinating and well-supported by the text. It's a challenging read for lay people but a brilliant addition to the scholarship in this area.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Jen Juenke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a unique book taking on the position of how American prison systems have been used to exploit Native Americans, stifle political expression, and to gain more land.
I thought it was an interesting take of how prisons are used in that way.

However, I needed more context. The author throws out names and events and believes that people should have heard about these people/events.

I thought that to have a more full understanding was for the author to say why people were in jail/prison, the history behind the prison sentence and then correlate that to his premise.

The last few chapters were hard to digest because of the names and events that I had never heard of. It was a sea of names.

Overall I think that there is a unique perspective in the book, it gets overlooked by not having any context surrounding it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest opinion.

[Emma Cathryne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful look at the system of US prison imperialism that has operated as a tool of oppression and colonial violence both abroad and at home for hundreds of years. Weber makes a strong argument for the US as a carceral state and identifies the history of prisons as vehicle for upholding structural racism and promoting colonial control. He highlights a few of the key figures in the US prison resistance movement and encourages the reader to consider modern applications of prison imperialism via the growing panopticon of US surveillance. This is the type of history I sincerely wish I had learned in high school, and I am continuously dumbfounded by the erasure and/or demonization of groundbreaking Black, Brown, and Indigenous resistance movements in contemporary pedagogy.

[Sasha Mircov · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Purgatory is the debut book by Benjamin Weber, a professor of African-American studies at UC Davis, the rising voice in the discourse on the carceral state. In the book, Professor Weber draws neatly and undisputably the connection between slavery, colonialism, and the rise of mass incarceration in the US. The work stands shoulder to shoulder with works such as The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. #AmericanPurgatory #TheNewPress

[Melissa Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a short read on the history of prisons and of some of the horrible things the US government has done in the past.

I understand this movement a bit more but still believe it's extremely unrealistic and highly impractical to abolish all prisons. Besides, there are people who do not deserve to be free in society due to the nature of their crimes and extreme likelihood to re-offend.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i wanted to love this but it just feels like word vomit, i wish it was formatted a lot better and i'm sure it would've been very informative that way but simply spitting facts that sometimes don't even align with each other doesn't make for a very great read.

[Anna Arnsberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

love the premise and I think he makes some good arguments but it was extremely difficult to follow. trying to trace prison imperialism from the colonial period to late 20th century in a 200-page popular press book feels like an impossible task and lots of important context is lost as a result

[milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Purgatory: Prison Imperialism and the Rise of Mass Incarceration by Benjamin D Weber is a well-argued approach to understanding how we as a country have become a carceral state. It is necessary to understand and face our past in order to make reparation and move forward toward a better society.

There is a lot of information in the book and a lot of dots to connect, so the better a reader's familiarity with some of the history the better the understanding of the nuance of the argument. That said, very few people will know the history of so many places and so many people. Fortunately, Weber gives enough information and detail to support and make his case. If specific events or periods puzzle you, there is a lot of opportunity offered to do some due diligence. To have brought every single piece of information that supports the argument into the book, in minute detail, would have both bogged down the book and made it unreasonably long. But there is plenty here to grasp the ideas, and ultimately if you accept the larger premise of the argument, the main thing is what will we do with it moving forward, not nitpicking whether every possible bit of supporting evidence is presented. I don't need the formulas to understand that gravity exists when I always see objects fall.

Part of the problem with making change is that those who oppose it can easily claim that the prison state isn't connected to foreign affairs, that economic conditions aren't associated environmental conditions, when in fact they are all connected. We can't attack each element separately, even if focus might be on a couple areas at a time. We have to consider every aspect when we work to rebuild, replace, or, if necessary, dismantle systems and institutions that do more harm than good. We have to come together and work for the common good, and part of that is to stop scapegoating and quit pretending some of our ancestors didn't do things we should make amends for.

Recommended for readers who enjoy gaining new perspectives on history as well as those who are actively engaged in movements to make society fairer and more equitable.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.