Alcatraz Research Paper

Have you ever been to the popular San Francisco, California tourist attraction, Alcatraz? Thousands of people visiting the West Coast pass through the park each day to get a taste of what life would be like to be isolated from the outer world for going against the law. The small island is now one of our country’s national parks, but before it became one, it was used by the U.S. Army and as a federal prison that is now famous in history. It didn’t start out as one of the biggest federal prisons in the country. In the mid 1800’s, the island just off of San Francisco Bay “was set aside..for possible use as a United States military reservation.” The island was used by the U.S. Army for a little over eighty years until it was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In 1933, “The Federal Government had decided to open a maximum-security, minimum-privilege penitentiary to deal with the most incorrigible inmates in Federal prisons, and to show the law-abiding public that the Federal Government was serious about stopping the rampant crime of the 1920s and 1930s.” (Alcatraz) This was the start to the twenty-nine years the prison was enforcing strict rules to some of the toughest prisoners. The rules were simple, “At Alcatraz, a prisoner had four rights: food, clothing, shelter, and medical …show more content…
People believe they shut down because of the 1962 escape that took place, since the closing was just shortly after, but they had actually been planning to shut down long before the escape happened. The operation of the prison was way too expensive compared to other federal prisons. This was because all of the supplies and materials needed to keep the island running had to be brought to Alcatraz by ship. Along with the high costs, the quality of the buildings were deteriorating. (Alcatraz) This prison made a huge impact on our federal prison