History of the Famous Prison of Alcatraz
History of the Famous Prison of Alcatraz
Alcatraz was a famous federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. The island stands on 12 acres of solid rock, and Alcatraz was often called The Rock. More than one mile of water separates it from the mainland.
The Island received its name in 1775 when Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala charted the San Francisco Bay and named it La Isla de Los Alcatraces, which translated to "Island of the Pelicans." The small-uninhabited island had little going for it with its swift currents, minimal vegetation, and barren ground.
Seventy-two years later in 1847, the US Army took notice of the island and its strategic value as a military fortress. Topographical engineers began conducting geological surveys and by 1853, U.S. Army Engineers started constructing a military fortress along with the Pacific Coast's first operating lighthouse. The discovery of gold along the American River and California in 1848, brought shiploads of miners from around the world into California seeking the precious metal. As word spread around the globe of abundant wealth in California, the United States government would evoke security measures to protect its land and mineral resources from seizure by other countries.
After several years of tiresome construction and several preservation expansions, Alcatraz was set as the United States Western symbol of military strength. The new military fortress featured long-range iron cannons and four massive 36,000-pound, 15 inch Rodman guns capable of sinking mammoth hostile ships three miles away. Alcatraz's guns could fire 6,949 pounds of iron shot in one barrage. Though the fortress fired only one 400 pound canon round at an unidentified ship and missed, the Island had lived up to its self-given proclamation as an icon of U.S. military power. Within a few decades the Island's role as a military fortress would start to fade away and its defenses would become obsolete by more modern weaponry standards.
Alcatraz was the Army's first long-term prison, and was beginning to build its reputation as a tough detention facility by exposing the inmates to severe and harsh confinement conditions along with ironhanded discipline. The prisoners were broken into three classes based on their conduct and crime. Each class held distinct levels of privilege. For example, prisoners in the third class were not permitted reading material from the library, visits or letters from relatives, and a strict rule of...