Constructing American Childhood with Holly White

For modern Americans, age is a prime factor in many milestones: learning how to drive, voting for the first time, and legally consuming alcohol. Using age as a standard for laws began in the founding era. Despite many advancements in the understanding of human development, it has largely remained unchanged since. 

And while we might think of these age-based laws as safeguards for children, they were in fact developed with the goal of better controlling them. Is it time that such laws, both civil and criminal, were updated for modern society?

In this episode, Dr. Lynn Price Robbins is joined by Dr. Holly White to discuss her new book, Constructing American Childhood: Age-Based Laws and the Illusion of Protection in the Early United States.

Hosted by Dr. Lynn Price Robbins. Executive producers are Dr. Jim Ambuske, Jeanette Patrick, and Patrick Long. Audio and video editing by Patrick Long. Revolutions in Retrospect is a joint production of Primary Source Media and Revolutionary Histories.