History of youth rights in the United States facts for kids
The youth rights movement in the United States is all about making sure young people have the same rights and fairness as adults. It also focuses on making sure different age groups are treated equally.
This movement began in the 1930s, during a difficult time called the Great Depression. It has since influenced many important events. These include the civil rights movement and protests against the Vietnam War. Today, with the help of the Internet, the idea of youth rights is becoming popular again.
Early Days: 1930s to 1950s
The idea of youth rights first became a clear topic in the 1930s. The Great Depression was a time when many people lost their jobs and money. This made young college students start thinking more about politics and change.
Youth rights ideas first grew through a group called the National Student League. They became much stronger when young people across the country formed the American Youth Congress. This group cared about many issues of the time. They even presented a Declaration of the Rights of American Youth to the U.S. Congress.
The group was very successful. Its leader even said it was like "a sort of a student brain of the New Deal." The New Deal was a series of programs to help the country recover. The American Youth Congress's work led to the creation of the National Youth Administration. This program helped young people in the late 1930s.
However, the group lost support when its leaders backed a controversial agreement between two countries. This caused them to lose members and important friends like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The group quickly declined and eventually ended.
Big Changes: 1960s to 1980s
The 1960s brought big changes for youth rights. The U.S. Supreme Court made two important decisions that helped young people.
One case was Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. This case said that students in public schools have free speech rights. The other case was In re Gault. This decision gave young people in juvenile court cases the right to a fair legal process, called due process.
The youth rights movement grew again in the early 1960s. Groups like Students for a Democratic Society and Youth Liberation of Ann Arbor became active. This movement had a big impact on the national protests against the Vietnam War. It especially focused on giving young people power through activism.
Many activists from the 1960s continued to work for youth. For example, Bob Moses led a project called Freedom Summer in 1964. He now runs the Algebra Project. Bill Ayers also taught and wrote about youth after being an activist.
Other successes of the movement included lowering the voting age to 18 in 1971. Many states also lowered other age restrictions in the early to mid-1970s. The first time a high school student ran for a local school board was in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sonia Yaco, a youth activist, ran for the Human Rights Party. Even though a court challenge made it hard for her to be on the ballot, she still received 1,300 votes.
In 1974, the idea of youth rights was clearly defined in books. John Holt published Escape From Childhood. In this book, he wrote that:
- ...The rights, privileges, duties of adult citizens be made available to any young person, of whatever age, who wants to make use of them.
Later that year, another youth rights book called Birthrights by Richard Farson was published. However, during the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, the youth rights movement faced challenges. It became less prominent than the children's rights movement, which focused more on protecting children.
In 1986, the National Child Rights Alliance was started by young people and adults. It began by protecting children from abuse. But as it grew, it started to focus more on youth rights. In 1989, it passed a Youth Bill of Rights. The group ended in 1999 due to money problems.
Modern Era: 1990s to Today
In the mid-1990s, a new youth-led movement for self-determination rights began. This happened largely because of the Internet. This new youth rights movement came together in 1996 to form Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions (ASFAR).
Soon, there were disagreements within ASFAR between those who wanted big changes and those who wanted smaller ones. This led to the creation of the National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) in 1998. NYRA was founded by leaders from ASFAR and YouthSpeak. Their goal was to make the youth rights movement more organized and professional.
Today, the youth rights movement is a widespread effort. NYRA provides central leadership, and many local groups around the world also contribute.
Other organizations like The Freechild Project and Global Youth Action Network connect the youth rights movement to international youth activism and youth voice movements. Groups such as Oblivion and Peacefire also support the youth rights movement.
The 1990s and 2000s also saw more books about youth rights. Two important books from the late 1990s were The Scapegoat Generation and Framing Youth by Mike Males. These books argued that young people are often unfairly blamed for society's problems. Males said that blaming youth is a "national pathology." He called it a "smokescreen for the failure of adulthood."
Later, in 2007, Robert Epstein published The Case Against Adolescence. This was one of the most complete books on youth rights since the 1970s. Albert Ellis called it "one of the most revolutionary books I have ever read." In 2014, Adam Fletcher released a free book called A Short Introduction to Youth Rights through The Freechild Project.
