Answer: Progressive reform resulted in the "Big House" by the late twenties – prisons averaging 2,500 men with professional management designed to eliminate the abusive forms of corporal punishment and prison labor prevailing at the time.
This growth has led to an increase in crime and an increase in the number of prisoners. Reformers blamed mainly the poor for these social changes. Criminals were considered social corrupts. Many believed that such behavior could only be mitigated through diligence and strict discipline.