From another perspective, many immigrants
arrived in the colonies as a result of a
standard practice and goal of several European penal systems, that
is, harsh,
public punishments, including exile and banishment.
No one in the PPS recommended using exile (called "transportation")
as a penal practice.
The penitentiary was a system
of punishment—mild punishments,
not harsh.
The prevailing 18th century psychological
and moral theories held that an individual changes from
internal, not external,
influences. The conscience, in effect, cannot
be whipped or beaten into a higher level
of awareness concerning
the value of living according to noble moral or Christian
values.
Moreover, in an expanding economy, there
was an ever growing need for laborers, especially skilled craftsmen.
It seems reasonable to infer that the PPS also
wanted to make the offender whole so that his labor would
be put to good use once released.
Continue—PPS
