Juvenile justice in the making

"In his narrative history of the rise and workings of America's first juvenile court, David S. Tanenhaus explores the funadmental and enduring question of how the law should treat the young. Sifting through almost 3,000 previously unexamined Chicago case files from the early twentieth century, Tanenhaus reveals how children's advocates slowly built up a separate court system for juveniles, all the while fighting political and legal battles to legitimate this controversial institution. In the process, the juvenile court became a catalyst for the development of the American welfare state, the medicalization of child rearing, and the beginnings of innovative community organizing programs."--BOOK JACKET.