Law Research Paper: History of the Juvenile Justice System: Progressive Era

History of The Juvenile Justice System: Progressive Era
Student
Institution
Course
Professor
Date
History of The Juvenile Justice System: Progressive Era
It is evident that the juvenile justice system has undergone numerous changes over the years. In the United States, the juvenile justice system was first creating during the 1800s. The goal was to transform how young offenders were handled within the justice system. From that time, there are several reforms that have been enacted in order to protect and safeguard youths and ensure that their rights are observed. Moreover, the system created an aversion toward imprisonment among young people. During the Progressive Era, there were numerous reforms that were enacted is the United States social sphere. The period spanned from the 1900s to 1920s. In the preceding years, there was much discontent among the citizens. It was during the progressive that women suffrage, advocacy against child labor, the battle for eight-hour workday, and use of mass media in exposing the corruption in large corporations (Impact Law, n.d.).
However, before the progressive era, there was increased rates of child offender being imprisoned with adults. This was the approach that was used for many years. However, the advocacy from political and social reformers, supported by work of psychologists during the 18th and 19th Centuries initiated a shift in the way young people were handled in the justice system. There were reformers who aimed at giving rehabilitation opportunities to juvenile offenders. This led to the construction of the New York House of Refuge in the 1820s. In this house, many juveniles who would otherwise be placed in adult prisons were held here. In the subsequent years, state recognized the need to create and independent justice system to handle the issues of youths (Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, n.d.). Many youths were being incarcerated with adult, which ...