Refuge Period
Refuge Period (1800s–1899) Prior to the 1800s, American society was largely agricultural in nature. Youth worked family farms and were given a tremendous amount of responsibility at a fairly young age. However, with the Industrial Revolution, families left the farms to work in the factories predominately found in the cities. As children began working in factories, they were taken away from the watchful eyes of their parents. The situation created many issues for juveniles, ranging from exposure to deviance (e.g., accounts indicate that juvenile street gangs flourished at this time; see Johnson, 1979, for discussion) to abuses in the factories where they worked. Child labor laws were not well developed, and children were often forced to work long hours in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. The increase in deviance and the concerns about the welfare of children led to the child-saving movement.
