Description
Book SynopsisTraces the evolution of the idea that young lawbreakers - or potential lawbreakers - merit special treatment, from its conception in the early 19th-century reform school to the creation of the juvenile court in the Progressive Era. His account of the changing definitions of delinquency offers insights on dilemmas that continue in US society.
Trade ReviewA pathbreaking work of scholarship.... Simultaneously an intellectual tour de force, an eloquent portrayal of juveniles caught in the snares of an often arbitrary system of justice, and a sobering reminder of how far we have yet to go in helping our troubled youth.
-- Julia Grant, Michigan State University
Crisp, insightful, well-researched, and well-argued... the essential history book for those interested in the chaos of the current juvenile justice system.
-- Marvin Lazerson * Reviews in American History *
Reminds the modern reader that the intertwined concepts of the juvenile court and juvenile rehabilitation are and always have been hopelessly idealistic.
* The Law and Politics Book Review *
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1-The Theory of "Progressive" Juvenile Justice
Introduction to Part 1
1 Precedent and Policy
The Law of American Juvenile Justice
2 Juvenile Justice in the Age of Jackson
3 Domesticating the House of Refuge
The Family Reform School in Victorian America
4 Love on the Move
The Juvenile Court Movement in Progressive America
Part 2-The Practice of "Progressive" Juvenile Justice
Introduction to Part 2
5 The Victorian Reform School
A False Start
6 The Heyday of the Family Reform School?
7 The Juvenile Court Movement in Microcosm
Milwaukee
8 The Operational Meaning of Noninstitutional Treatment
9 The Heyday of the Juvenile Court?
Epilogue
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Notes
Bibliography
Bibliography Addendum
Index
