Juvenile Justice

Colonial America: Managing Troublesome Children

Crime and delinquency were not serious problems during the colonial era. Colonial towns and villages were, as legal historian Lawrence Friedman concisely puts it, small and homogeneous “tight little islands.” “The attention of the early colonists was focused on survival: building shelters, planting crops, maintaining security against Indian attacks. The colonists were intimately familiar with neighbors and kept them, as well as their own children, under close surveillance. Juvenile misbehavior and serious adult crime—for example, murder, rape, and robbery—were secondary concerns.

Colonial criminal justice systems were small and informal, and there was no need for separate juvenile justice systems. Sheriffs, marshals, or constables—the title varied by colony—served as the chief law enforcement officers. Some colonies, following the example of England, used the night watch system: Citizens took turns patrolling the streets at night. The structure of court systems and the content of penal codes were also colony-specific. In some colonies, especially in the 17th century, religious congregations served as courts. Other colonies, following the example of England, adopted state-based judiciaries. But these court systems, much like the night watch, were staffed by amateurs. Adult criminals and juvenile offenders were processed through the same system of justice, but juveniles received more lenient punishments. Throughout the colonial period, parents and family members were the first line of defense against juvenile misbehavior.

Colonies also developed unique systems of punishment. Prisons and juvenile reformatories, both costly post-Revolution inventions, did not exist. Instead, adult criminals and juvenile offenders were subjected to a variety of colony- and case-specific forms of discipline. Minor offenders issued apologies, paid fines or restitution, wore badges of dishonor—for example, the letter “D” for drunkenness—or served time in the stocks. More serious offenses merited whipping. Some colonies built small jails or lockups to hold offenders for brief periods of incarceration. Criminals might be forced to serve apprenticeships. In extreme cases, they were banished from the community. Colonial punishments were generally based on the notion of reintegrative shaming: public humiliation followed by reintegration back into the community.

The death penalty was prescribed for the most serious offenses. Juvenile offenders were not exempt from capital punishment. In 1642, 16-year-old Thomas Graunger, a servant, was executed in Massachusetts for bestiality—specifically, sodomizing a horse, cow, and chicken. In 1722, 17-year-old William Battin, an indentured servant, was executed in Pennsylvania for arson and murder. In 1786, 12-year-old Hannah Ocuish was hung for stoning and strangling a young child. However, capital punishment was rarely used for adult or juvenile offenders.

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