Neoesclavismo institucional: el sistema Auburn como continuidad de la esclavitud en Nueva York (1823-1865)

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of this research is to analyze the continuity of slave practices in New York after the official abolition of slavery in 1827, through a study of the Auburn penitentiary system in New York. After an extensive review of primary and secondary sources, it is argued that although New York outlawed slavery, it established a penitentiary system that implemented neo-slavery practices, such as the exploitation of inmate labor, severe punishments, the dehumanization of bodies, and ultimately, their exhibition for the enrichment of the State. In reality, slave practices were not eliminated in New York but rather transformed and perfected. Likewise, practices of exclusion toward certain social groups were institutionalized. This research seeks to illustrate these ideas.

      The primary sources used in this study include: a newspaper note published in 1858 on the death of an African American prisoner named More, found in the Digital Collection of the New York Public Library; a map of the Auburn prison; and a document on the abolition of slavery in New York, dating from 1827. On the other hand, the bibliography consulted consists of texts by authors such as Ashley T. Rubin, Nick Fesette, Dario Melossi, Massimo Pavarini, Michel Foucault, and Denise Green. The main contribution of this work is to demonstrate that the Auburn system was not a more humane alternative to slave punishment, but rather one of its continuities, implemented within a reformist legal framework.