SOSC 1800 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: World Health Organization, First Nations, Black Kids
25 Feb 2019
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Document Summary
Prior to the 17th century children were considered property. It was not uncommon for children to die before their 4th birthday. Early institutions largely devoted to managing runaway and/or incorrigible children were actually prison-like schools for juvenile offenders and impoverished children. New york legislation granted the house of refuge the right to take in children who were considered vagrants who were convicted of criminal offenses. Early efforts to control the large populations of poor children engaged in idle or delinquent behavior led to their placement in factories, houses of refuge and orphanages where they were treated inhumanely and given very few freedoms. Children initially identified by the child savers as children in need were now being described as bad seeds who were capable of hurting others. The middle class saw them as a disruptive force in society jeopardizing their privileged position in society.
