Working Class Youth and Moral Panic

Why has the nineteenth ampere-second been associated with a persistent timidity over workings class young person? The events of the nineteenth century reserve very much been described as turning points byout Europe, the sequent revolutions of the major powers of Europe light-emitting diode to significant change in the countries involved, do-gooderally industrial revolutions and urbanization led to greater city populations. The question closely youth premier(pre noinal)ly must be defined in a manor easily understood. How persistent the apprehension was is important in addition to this what panic was there.From the latter part of the nineteenth century these aftermaths can be discussed with greater authority, and effects emaciated to a greater extent conclusively. Moral panic is considered worldness a pertain for the threat of companionable order or determine as Stanley Cohen and Jock Young have emphasised. The context is vital during this occlusive as British out put doubled twice in the nineteenth century between 1830-1852 and 1852-80 which fundamentally changed Britain in a number of ways, sooner the revolution its estimated ? of the population lived in rural parts.Working dourer for less in factories and higher(prenominal)er living costs in an increasing urban pastoral left whatever(prenominal) with very little. The relentless path that factory owners were up to(p) to take due to the governments laissez-faire attitude led to anformer(a) social change the breakdown of family life, safety was not an issue only profit, women and children worked hard and for little income. It is also argued that England was the worlds first urban nation, and urbanization meant that the majority of people lived in urban areas concord to the consensus of 1861, an inevitable factor in a developing power.The aspects that caused panic- and/or good panic- are also an important aspect as salutary as what led to the reactions of politicians and how the pub lic reacted to youth, which could often be a crop of journalism at the time. It should also be explained there was no distinguishable youth pre 1850s, children entered adult life as soon as assertable working in the various industries. And without delay there was a growing consciousness of not only the working class but of a youth culture one which was ultimately conscious of itself.With this change in society and as problems occurred bleakspapers took advant eon to emphasise story lines which, arguably in turn would lead to moral panic to several(prenominal) degree. And as Eileen Janes Yeo explains that some of these ideas were manufactured in the light of politicians creating these problems for them themselves to solve through with(predicate) social reform, creating promote panic over the youth of tomorrow. An example of this can be seen by the mugging of an MP in 1862 or Garrotting as they were coined, held a belittled proportion of crimes but a machinate campaign head ed from this Garrotte robberies was tiny, the press created sensations out of minor incidents. Parliament responded with ferocious legislation providing for offenders to be flogged as healthy as imprisoned. 1 Later Clive Emsley explains Violence, especially violence with a intimate frisson, sold newspapers. But violent crime in the form of tally and street robbery never figured significantly in the statistics or in the courts. 2 This therefore verifies the effects that the press had on panic in spite of appearance a social context to some extent.On the other hand Andrew Davies argues other than agreeing with Humphries point of view in his writings I would strongly plunk for Humphries assertion that violent youth gangs were not an invention of the late twee press. 3 It should also be noted that to a degree many victorian English thought that the Irish or more specifically the woeful Irish were responsible for a large proportion of crime in some areas such(prenominal)(prenomin al) as Lancashire. With the substantial increase in Irish immigration during the early prudish period, the host societys widespread belief in the innate criminality of the Irish-and, more particularly, of the Irish poor-formed an integral component of the ostracize side of the Irish stereotype4 The Dublin weekly newspaper added in 1868 Nowhere in England can our countrymen consider themselves safe from English hoop violence, The press therefore had a degree of influence on the panic throughout England regardless of whether they overstated events or exaggerated them, which is not to verify this was the case in these separate examples.As hand in hand they pay off the situation worse and can spread panic. There were on the other hand reasons for concern and panic within Britain during this time. There were considered to be many Scuttlers and such like which were not recorded during the time and as pile Bent describes in his criminal life reminiscences of forty-two eld as a law officer In the early 1890s, staff at the Manchester Royal Infirmary informed the police that scarcely a day passed Without the admission of someone who ad been injured in a scuttling quarrel5 this shows to a large degree that the presence of the police was either requisite or attributed to events occurring and therefore persistent panic could be justified to some degree. In addition to this pick pocketing is considered a skill and thus meant training, which opens a new area of debate. The orphans that were taken in had to work for their lodging and this could be the case with picking pockets.This argues that most youths were pushed into crime due to poverty and unsufferable backgrounds. Such was the need for the Ragged schools to bring those who did not have a chance at education for the varying reasons that hindered children in the 19th century. The metropolitan police force is an important factor in scaling the panic of 19th century England as a centralized force that had more responsibility and imposed increasing numbers of laws is an obvious sign of mesh regardless of whether it was needed or not.It could be considered to be a far-right attribute to what was happening whether it was to take precautions or act against the facing problems of youth culture. Increases in police forces in cities can also be drawn from the panic of Gang violence and scuttling. Philip Gooderson certainly argues the case, as for example the Salsford police increasing the force by around 30 in the years 1890-1. The various factory acts of the 19th century could also play a part in delinquency as it meant that less and less children were working therefore would either be in education or on the streets.It should also be considered that children had been taken advantage within industries for a long time and the possible effect this had on youth, the 19th century at last saw a slow and gradual intervention in this through various social reforms with such acts as the chimney sweep s act of 1840, which in conclusion began to be enforced unlike precedent reforms which were often ignored, as well as the numerous factory acts which allowed better conditions for children and women and age restrictions.The various institutions that were created during the 19th century are an obvious sign of moral panic and intelligibly show one reason why the 19th century has often be concerned with youth. Schools such as the Ragged schools in 1844, Reformatories in 1854 and finally in 1857 Industrial schools, each of which were to their own as such and have varying ideals. However there are conflicting views upon how delinquents should have been treated, and there are a number of private voluntary additions that swarm for a varying unishments opposed to prison, such as, Mary Carpenter, Sydney Turner and Mathew Davenport hammock whom helped in different ways to establish delinquency and aid such effects, this also argues the case for moral panic as there were now debates on wha t was best for delinquents in form of punishments and education. Additionally the social social welfare and acts of the 1850s as well as the education act of 1876 introduced a number of industrial schools and further developments within hooky player schools. There was a network of 208 schools 43 reformatories, 132 industrial schools, 21 day industrials schools and 12 truant schools6 broom Shore comments that The juvenile offender was not, then, an invention of the nineteenth century. However, it is run that in this period a reconceptualisation of youth crime, and various developments in social policy, as well as the activities of certain individuals, resulted in a new language of youthful delinquency. Juvenile delinquency reiterated throughout the nineteenth and 20th centurys, even nowadays there is a concern for today and tomorrows youth as ideals are lost through different generations, not to mention the rise in knife and grievous weapon crimes. Gang violence and criminali ty are placid high today in London and other major cities with a analogous average age of criminality the average age of a teen arrested for murder in 2008 (18. 1 years) was four months older than the average age of a teenage murder arrestee in 1960 (17. years)7 despite there being moral panic for youth culture during the 19th century its not strictly persistent just to 19th century, as it is still of concern today. During the 18th and 19th century children worked for up to 18 hours a day, little or no education was offered as a result right and wrong was not always apparent and this is a add factor to delinquency and persistent panic in the 19th century, as modernity took hold of Britain and more liberal and welfare ideas were debated which stemmed concern for youth which had not been fully understood or considered in previous centurys.Bibliography Davies, Andrew youth gangs, masculinity and violence in late squared-toe Manchester and Salford, Journal of Social score, Vol. 32 , No. 2. (Winter, 1998), pp. 349-369 Emsley, Clive Crime and the Victorians Last updated 2011-02-17 http//www. bbc. co. uk/history/British/victorians/crime_01. shtml 02/02/12 Males, Mike A. Criminals and violent offenders acquire older and older not younger 03/12/2010 http//www. cjcj. org/post/juvenile/justice/criminals/and/violent/offenders/getting/older/and/older/not/younger Accessed 02/03/2012Pearson, Geoffrey Disturbing continuities Peaky blinders to Hoodies ( CJM no. 65 Autumn 2006) Shore, Heather The idea of juvenile crime in 19th century England, History Today, June 2000 Swift, Roger Heroes or Villains? The Irish, Crime, and Disorder in Victorian England http//www. jstor. org/stable/4051670 Accessed 06/03/2012 1345 1 Clive Emsley http//www. bbc. co. uk/history/British/victorians/crime_01. shtml 2 http//www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/victorians/crime_01. html 3 Andrew Davies youth gangs, masculinity and violence in late Victorian Manchester and Salford p. 4 4 Roger Swif t Heroes or Villains? The Irish, Crime, and Disorder in Victorian England 5 young person gangs, masculinity and violence in late Victorian Manchester and Salford, p. 5 6 Heather Shore, The idea of juvenile crime in 19th century England, History Today, June 200 p. 7 7http//www. cjcj. org/post/juvenile/justice/criminals/and/violent/offenders/getting/older/and/older/not/younger