The Violent Years: Responses to Juvenile Crime in the 1950s

In the 1950s, the United States experienced a panic over youth crime. Both the political rhetoric and cultural fears of the period would appear to lead directly to the “get tough” approach popular today. But they did not. Instead, the government's response focused on policies of prevention and rehabilitation. What accounts for this? The answer lies in a set of institutions that framed the issue and biased it in favor of progressive solutions. These institutions—the Children's Bureau, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency—provided friendly venues for progressive ideas while preventing other ideas from being considered.