American Purgatory by Benjamin Weber tells the story of American incarceration, from its roots in racial slavery and colonialism to the present day, through the stories of the people who built resistance and freedom movements from within its confines. In the book, stories of survival and resistance take many forms. These stories show how criminal law and imprisonment have been used as tools to control and subdue groups who stand in political opposition.

In Florida in 1837, the United States government and the Native American Seminole people were embroiled in a war that began with a disputed treaty that would remove the Seminoles from the state. It was that year when Coacoochee (Wildcat), the son of a Seminole chief, was captured and taken to Fort Marion prison. To escape, Coacoochee stood on the shoulders of medicine man Talmus Hadjo after both starved themselves enough to fit through a narrow window high in a 20-foot wall. Hadjo was caught and killed by armed militia. Coacoochee survived. 

In the Philippines in 1896, Felipe Salvador defeated 3,000 Spanish troops with 300 men in the Battle of San Luis during the country’s war for independence from Spain. Two years later, Spain transferred control of the Philippines to the United States. In 1902, new laws imposed by that government redefined Salvador as a criminal. He was soon after captured and charged with sedition. His escape en route to Bilibid Prison was seen as an act in the service of communal freedom.

In 1976, Jalil Muntaquin, a former Black Panther and prison organizer, began drafting an appeal to the United Nations that it recognize the existence of political prisoners in the United States. Muntaquin had been imprisoned in 1975 and would not be released until 2020. In that time, he co-founded the Jericho Movement, which continues to challenge targeted persecution.  

Weber weaves stories like these through a tapestry that shows how ideas about race and control made their way from United States military actions in the Philippines, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Panama and elsewhere to the American prison system. It’s this global history, said Weber, that is largely left out in discussions about the American prison system.  

Access the book at The New Press 

Also available at Shields Library