Stubborn Children: Controlling Delinquency in the United States, 1640-1981

by John R. Sutton

John Sutton provides a fascinating account of the changing patterns of reform aimed at the control of children in the United States. He focuses on a series of watershed reforms—from colonial Puritan strategies of child control to the nineteenth-century refuge and reformatory movements, to the juvenile court and the recent movement for deinstitutionalization.

Hardcover

First published April 6, 1988

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some great history of the juvenile justice system here, but the theory and empirics fall rather flat. Or rather, the theory and empirics are disconnected from each other. The author does a better job undermining other explanations about developments in delinquency than he does supporting his own sweeping theories. I remain unconvinced by many parts of his argument.