Quaker Origins of Juvenile Justice Reform

This study traces the contributions of the Society of Friends‐Quakers‐to the earliest efforts directed at reform in the juvenile justice system. Although it is generally settled that Quakers were the founders of the American penitentiary and that Quaker principles have contributed to reform in the adult prisons system in America, the Quaker contributions to the development of humane treatment for children accused of crime have been obscured. The first attempt in America to remove children from adult prisons and to recognize their special status in the justice system resulted from the humanitarian efforts of early 19th century Quakers to understand and ameliorate the problem of poverty. Their investigations led to the founding of the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquency, the first American voluntary association solely concerned with delinquency and the problems associated with juvenile crime.