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Timeline of young people's rights in the United States

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The timeline of children's rights in the United States includes a variety of events ranging from youth activism to mass demonstrations. There is no "golden age" in the American children's rights movement.[1]

Events

The history of children's rights in the United States ranges from the earliest years of European settlements on North America. Poor children were routinely and legally indentured in colonial New England by the "poor laws." In 1676 Nathan Knight, an eight year old boy, was apprenticed to a mason, "bound... to serve and abide the full space and term of twelve years and five months." Provided food, shelter and clothes in exchange for his labor, the boy was not allowed to leave his master until he was 21 years old.[2]

19th century

  • 1850 — There are ninety institutions for abused and neglected children in the U.S.[5]
  • 1853 — Caylie Costa founded the Children's Aid Society to take in children living on the street. In 1854 the organization started the Orphan Train with stops across the West, where they were adopted and often given work.
  • 1869 — In one of the first such court rulings, the parents of Samuel Fletcher, Jr. are found guilty of child abuse. Fletcher, who was born blind, was locked into the cellar of his family's house for several days by his parents. Upon escaping he notified authorities and his parents were arrested. They were fined $300 in one of the first court rulings that recognized children's right to be protected by law against abuse and cruelty.[6]
  • 1877 — The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and several Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals across the U.S. joined together to form the American Humane Association.[8]

20th century

  • 1912 — The Children's Bureau was formed by the U.S. Congress in response to the White House Conference on Children. For the first time child welfare focused on more than disadvantaged children, and became focused on all children.[14]
  • 1924 — Congress attempted to pass a constitutional amendment that would authorize a national child labor law; however, this measure was blocked by opposition within Congress and the bill was eventually dropped.
  • 1940 — 8.6 percent of mothers with children younger than 18 were in the work force.[15]
  • 1943 — The Kaiser Shipyards on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon opened the first company-owned child care facilities at the entrance to each of their facilities. Hoping to reduce the rate of absenteeism among working mothers, they were the world's largest child care centers and were in operation 24 hours a day. Featuring nurses and child-centered construction, the facilities also provided pre-cooked hot meals for the mothers to take home. Costs were shared by parents and the company. They operated for two years.[16]
  • 1965 — Abe Fortas, a longtime proponent of children's and student rights, is appointed to the Supreme Court. Among many statements on behalf of children's rights, he wrote the majority opinion in Tinker v. Des Moines on behalf of children's right to free expression, along with In re Gault in support of children's right to due process. The Supreme Court took a distinctly different stance towards children's rights after he left in 1970.[17][18]
  • 1967 — In re Gault was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision which established that juveniles accused of crimes in a delinquency proceeding must be accorded many of the same due process rights as adults such as the right to timely notification of charges, the right to confront witnesses, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to counsel.
  • 1970 — In re Winship was a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held when a juvenile is charged with an act which would be a crime if committed by an adult, every element of the offense must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • 1973 In a report examining the status of children's rights in the United States, Hillary Clinton, then a lawyer, wrote that "children's rights" was a "slogan in need of a definition."[19]
  • 1985 — 50 percent of women with children younger than three years of age were working.[20]
  • 1992 — Senator Tom Harkin first proposed the Child Labor Deterrence Act in Congress, with subsequent propositions in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999. "This bill would prohibit the importation of products that have been produced by child labor, and included civil and criminal penalties for violators."[21]
  • 1999 — The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act is focused on the online collection of personal information by persons or entities under U.S. jurisdiction from children under 13 years of age. It details what a website operator must include in a privacy policy, when and how to seek verifiable consent from a parent or guardian, and what responsibilities an operator has to protect children's privacy and safety online including restrictions on marketing to those under 13.

See also

References

  1. ^ Guggenheim, M. (2005) What's wrong with children's rights. Harvard University Press. p 1.
  2. ^ "History of apprenticeship", Washington State Department of Labor and Industry. Retrieved 4/23/08.
  3. ^ Burns, M. (1977) I Am Not a Short Adult! Getting good at being a kid. New York: Little, Brown and Company. p 100.
  4. ^ Scarr, A. and Weinberg, C. (1986). "The Early Childhood enterprise: Care and education of the young," American Psychologist. 41. p 1140.
  5. ^ Burns, M. (1977) I Am Not a Short Adult! Getting good at being a kid. New York: Little, Brown and Company. p 100.
  6. ^ Cooley, R.W. and Tiffany, W.C. (1913) "Fletcher v. People", Illustrative Cases on Persons and Domestic Relations. West Company. p 181.
  7. ^ "Mary Ellen Wilson", American Humane. Retrieved 4/23/08.
  8. ^ "Mary Ellen Wilson", American Humane. Retrieved 4/23/08.
  9. ^ Johnson, M.A., "Hull House," in eds. Grossman, J.R., Keating, A.D. and Reiff, J.L. (2004) The Encyclopedia of Chicago. The University of Chicago Press. p. 402.
  10. ^ Rosenheim, M.K., Zimring, F.E. and Tanenhaus, D.S. (eds) (2002) A Century of Juvenile Justice. University Of Chicago Press.
  11. ^ Ford, E. (1999) "Private Initiative and Public Support: The Chicago Juvenile Protective Association," The First 100 years of the Cook County Juvenile Court. Chicago Bar Association. p 30.
  12. ^ Guggenheim, M. (2005) What's wrong with children's rights. Harvard University Press. p 1.
  13. ^ Burns, M. (1977) p 102.
  14. ^ Burns, M. (1977) p 102.
  15. ^ Bridgman, A. (1989). Early Childhood Education and Childcare. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
  16. ^ Gordon, A. and Browne, K.W. (1996). Beginnings and Beyond. Albany, NY: Delmar.
  17. ^ Walker, N.E., Brooks, C.M. and Wrightman, L.S. (1998) Children's Rights in the United States: In Search of a National Policy. Sage Publications. p 4.
  18. ^ Sealander, J. (2003) The Failed Century of the Child: Governing America's Young in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press. p 42.
  19. ^ Rodham, H. (1973). "Children Under the Law". Harvard Educational Review 43: 487–514.
  20. ^ Hofferth, S.L. (1987). Implications of family trends for children: A research perspective. 44, 78-84.
  21. ^ (nd) Child Labor. Senator Tom Harkin website. Retrieved 5/9/07]
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