Vice Reformers

Vice laws aimed to control acts that many people engaged in for pleasure and about which the question of who was the “victim” and who the “offender” were often debated. Attempts to enforce existing laws and to enact new legislation occurred within the context of public discourse about the family, gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class, and immigration. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reform-minded individuals and organizations focused their attention on activities such as prostitution, drug sale and use, gambling, and pornography. ...