Oral history interview with Claire Argow

Collection

Identifier: SR 9090

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Claire Argow was conducted by Roberta Watts at Argow's home in Portland, Oregon, from November 28 to December 2, 1977. The interview was conducted in two sessions, and a transcript is available.

In the first interview session, conducted on November 28, 1977, Argow discusses her education and career in social work and criminology in New England, including her college experiences at Vassar and at Yale Law School, her work as assistant director for the Survey of Connecticut Prisons, and her work with the National Society for the Prevention of Crime in New York City. She talks about her views on capital punishment and about working with prisoners who were executed. She discusses her work with the Oregon Prison Association, and talks about prison conditions when she started in 1945, her successes in prison reforms, and opposition she faced.

In the second interview session, conducted on December 2, 1977, Argow talks about moving to Oregon in 1945 and shares her early impressions of the state, particularly regarding racism in Oregon. She discusses her work with Oregon Literacy, which helps adults learn to read and write, as well as learn English as a second language. She talks about her involvement in the creation of the Claire Argow Center, also known as the Multnomah County Women’s Jail. She discusses the rising crime rate at the time of the interview in 1977, particularly among women. She closes the interview by speaking about her belief in restorative justice rather than only punitive approaches.

Dates

1977 November 28-December 2

Creator

Argow, Claire Angevin, 1903-1997 (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

Biographical note

Claire Angevin Argow, nee Claire Ferisse Angevin, was born in Lloyd, New York, in 1903, and grew up in Boston. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in New York, and a master’s degree from the Simmons School of Social Work in Boston. She attended Yale, where she was one of the first three women to earn a law degree there. She worked as a social worker in New England, as assistant director for the Survey of Connecticut Prisons, and with the National Society for the Prevention of Crime in New York City. In 1935, she and Walter W. Argow were married; they later had one child. The couple lived in Florida for a few years, and then relocated to Oregon in 1945. Argow soon became the executive director of the Oregon Prison Association, and she worked towards many prison reforms in the state. She died in 1997.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (2 audiocassettes (2 hr., 9 min., 53 sec.) + transcript (49 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Claire Argow conducted by Roberta Watts from November 28 to December 2, 1977. Argow was a criminologist, attorney, and activist for improved correctional facilities, and served as executive director of the Oregon Prison Association.