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Pillsbury, Arthur J : Institutional Life: Its Relations to the State and to the Wards of the State

State Printing Office?, Sacramento, CA, 1906

Original publisher's beige paper wrappers with black lettering printed on front cover. No lettering on spine. "Printed at the State Printing Office." 43/4" x 7." 167 pages, complete. Index in back. Pages are very clean and intact except for light age toning and slight bumping along bottom edge near spine. Covers are clean and intact overall but have slight darkening, wrinkling along spine, and bumps at the tail of spine and lower corner of fore-edge. Some glue repair toward tail of spine. Binding is tight. A Very Good copy. A unique report made by Arthur J. Pillsbury, Secretary of the State Board of Examiners of California, after he visited more than eighty state-funded public institutions for the purposes of evaluation. Please note that many of Pillsbury's views expressed herein are from the early twentieth-century and likely reflect prevailing social attitudes of the time toward people deemed "dependent" by the state including, but not limited to, people with physical disabilities (such as blindness, deafness, and epilepsy), people with mental disabilities, orphans, elderly people, and criminals. Most of the book discusses at-risk youth, the reasons behind delinquent behavior, and corrective methods. Pillsbury begins with a discussion on what makes "good" boys and girls (at-risk youth) "bad" and gives his thoughts on what those reasons might be and what he believes would be a proper way to address the problem (he believes some of the solutions are industry and money-earning potential for boys and domestic duties and motherhood for girls). Pillsbury then writes about different reform schools for boys and girls and describes each of their approaches to behavioral reform. Some of them resort to corporal punishment (such as restraining and lashing) while others use education, industry, and learning a trade as corrective methods. Among the institutions Pillsbury describes are the Reform School at Rochester, the Lyman School for Boys, the Glen Mills House of Refuge, George Junior Republic, and the Illinois Training School for Girls. Pillsbury then turns to the subjects of dependent children, juvenile courts, orphans, and orphanages in California. Throughout the book, Pillsbury appears to state that much of the unacceptable behavior of youths stems from broken homes, negligent parenting, want of money, and a general lack of nurturing and mentoring. He advocates on several occasions for at-risk youth to have a guiding adult figure to get them back on the "right" track. Towards the end of the book, Pillsbury discusses the "feeble-minded" and those with physical disabilities and future prospects for wards of the state and related programs and institutions.. Book. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Soft cover

1st Edition

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