Amerykańskie domy poprawy – houses of refuge – w opisie Alexisa de Tocqueville’a i Gustave’a de Beaumonta
American houses of refuge in the description of Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the Alexis de Tocqueville’s and Gustave de Beaumont’s descriptions of the houses of refuge. It also presents their comments on the rules of the house of refuge and their views on the causes of crimes committed by children and youths, the nature of these crimes, the opportunities for social rehabilitation and its reception in France. Tocqueville and Beaumont made a nine-month journey to the United States in 1831. The main purpose of their visit was to study penitentiary systems, the Pennsylvanian and Auburn systems, but they also turned their attention to the system of dealing with juvenile offenders. Houses of refuge were institutions that combined learning and work, a discipline built through a bond with pupils, progressive classification of children and solutions securing the situation of children after leav- ing the institution.

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