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114:... To rescue little children from the cruelty and demoralization which neglect, abandonment and improper treatment engender; to aid by all lawful means in the enforcement of the laws intended for their protection and benefit; to secure by like means the prompt conviction and punishment of all persons violating such laws and especially such persons as cruelly ill treat and shamefully neglect such little children of whom they claim the care, custody or control.
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and poor and immigrant neighborhoods. Gerry was keen to enforce child labor laws regarding performance. Moving beyond street theater and acrobatics, he turned to juvenile theater, which caused controversy with those involved in the theater. Anti-Gerry campaign groups formed, and the mayor of New York
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Following its inception, the
Society quickly became an integral part of the New York legal system, acting as representatives of the State and City in child abuse court cases, and with a hotline from the Society to the police. According to one analysis, the Society effectively brought state law "into
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The NYSPCC runs several programs, including parenting skills, trauma recovery for abused children, trauma recovery for child welfare officers dealing with harrowing cases, professional training in identifying and reporting abuse and neglect, and visitation programs allowing children to visit their
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A notable feature of the NYSPCC's initial activities was Gerry's view that the proper role of the
Society was as a law enforcement agency rather than a provider of social services, with its main focus on child rescue. This position arguably made the society seem less progressive in later years as
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had organized beginning in 1863, and to which courts had previously sentenced abandoned and wayward girls and women, while it built its own facility nearby (on Fifth Avenue between 105th and 106th streets) to house children previously either detained in stationhouses awaiting judicial action or
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as the New York
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, with Wright as president and Bergh and Gerry as vice-presidents. Three other members of the ASPCA board were recruited to the board of the NYSPCC, with Wright subsequently attracting other wealthy benefactors including
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98:, Etta Wheeler is said to have approached Bergh and asked him why there should not be a society to protect children just as there was one to prevent cruelty to animals. He promised to create one. Bergh and his ASPCA legal counsel
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John D. Wright to gain support for the creation of a child protection society. On
December 15, 1874, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was formed. According to Gerry, the Society's purpose was:
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One impact of the NYSPCC's activities was an increase in the number of men in the legal system being prosecuted for sexual crimes against children; the
Society campaigned successfully for a reassessment of the
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SPCCs criticised an approach which made "no attempt to discover the cause of the conditions which make action by the society necessary, and therefore no endeavor to prevent a recurrence of these conditions".
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285:-based investigations, make arrests, carry firearms (if so authorized by the NYSPCC and properly trained according to New York State law enforcement standards), and use physical and/or deadly force.
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The founding of the NYSPCC prompted the rapid formation of other societies around the United States. By 1880 there were 37 societies; 162 in 1901, and by 1910 there were 250 societies in operation.
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line with its understanding of childhood". The organisation itself claims that "the entire body of modern child protective legislation is rooted in laws advocated by the NYSPCC". This includes:
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for those under 16, prohibiting children in saloons unless accompanied by a parent or guardian and prohibiting gun dealers from selling or giving weapons to minors (1884);
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In the late 1870s Gerry persuaded the police department to allow
Society agents (nicknamed "Gerrymen") to keep children away from "immoral" activities such as the
303:"The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Elects Shane Foley, Lilian Yang and Mikal Finkelstein as New Members of Its Board of Directors"
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acts requiring custodians to provide food, clothing, medical care and supervision, prohibiting child endangerment and regulating child employment (1876);
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After Wright's death in 1879, Gerry became president, retiring in 1901, but remaining legal advisor until his death in 1927. Bergh went on to found the
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other organizations moved away from legal enforcement towards family support and cruelty prevention rather than prosecution. In particular, the
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at the first meeting of the NYSPCC. However it is certain that the NYSPCC helped to establish a more humanitarian definition of child cruelty.
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87:, who was being beaten daily by her foster mother. Wheeler had approached several others before appealing to an animal charity.
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acts prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors and prohibiting them from living in drug dens and houses of prostitution (1889).
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Bergh swiftly managed to secure custody of the child. After the trial and conviction in April 1874 of the foster mother for
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Domestic
Tyranny: The Making of American Social Policy against Family Violence from Colonial Times to the Present
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some years earlier. In 1874 he and other officers of the society were approached by a church worker named
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While acting pursuant to their duties, individuals performing investigatory tasks for the NYSPCC hold
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In 1921, the
Society leased the former House of Mercy at the upper end of Manhattan island, which
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with respect to children (1887) and providing protections for messenger and telegraph boys (1888);
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was persuaded to limit Gerry's power and set out proper regulation of child stage performers.
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McRea, Roswell (1971). "Societies for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children". In Hart (ed.).
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Correction and
Prevention: Four Volumes Prepared For The Eighth International Prison Congress
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Children and Consumer Culture in American Society: A Historical Handbook and Guide
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Crimes against children:Sexual Violence and Legal Culture in New York 1860-1960
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It has been argued, however, that these initial years were not a campaign for
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in 1878, with other similar organisations appearing across the United States.
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Headquarters of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
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546:. New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Archived from
433:. New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Archived from
392:. New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Archived from
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classes, and professional training in the identification and reporting of
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was founded in 1874 (and incorporated in 1875). It is the world's first
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and factories and limiting child employment to 60 hours a week (1886);
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Pricing the Priceless Child: The Changing Social Value of Children
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and instill conservative values. Bergh himself spoke in favor of
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and mandating their separation from adults when arrested (1877);
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National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (UK)
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Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
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New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
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New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
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American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
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Child Protection in America: Past, Present, and Future
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status. This means that these individuals can perform
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211:, but partly motivated by a desire to control the
600:Children's charities based in the United States
333:. University of Illinois Press. pp. 72–75.
177:acts prohibiting the employment of children in
346:"Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children"
83:regarding the mistreatment of a child called
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605:1874 establishments in New York (state)
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204:and their difference to adult women.
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371:Richmond Henderson, Charles (1910).
344:Markel, Howard (December 14, 2009).
240:From Gerrymen to juvenile facilities
590:Charities based in New York (state)
35:agency. It is sometimes called the
16:Non-profit organization in the USA
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585:Organizations established in 1874
39:after one of its co-founders,
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520:. Princeton University Press.
431:"The NYSPCC story, 1875-1900"
265:jailed with adult prisoners.
159:acts prohibiting the sale of
279:New York State peace officer
412:Robertson, Stephen (2005).
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457:. Oxford University Press.
118:On April 27, 1875, it was
512:Zelizer, Viviana (1994).
325:Pleck, Elizabeth (2004).
170:acts providing juvenile
483:Jacobson, Lisa (2006).
219:children as a form of
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45:English-speaking world
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202:sexuality of children
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100:Elbridge Thomas Gerry
41:Elbridge Thomas Gerry
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533:>/house-of-mercy/
453:Myers, John (2006).
262:Harriet Starr Cannon
125:Cornelius Vanderbilt
85:Mary Ellen McCormack
531:http://myinwood.net
491:. Greenwood Press.
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579:Categories
544:"Programs"
357:2009-12-15
289:References
221:discipline
179:sweatshops
233:Brooklyn
217:flogging
67:In 1866
595:Cruelty
472:. Ayer.
246:theater
96:battery
92:assault
63:Origins
57:neglect
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172:parole
165:minors
104:Quaker
269:Today
77:RSPCA
493:ISBN
231:and
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