Introduction
For all the letters and documents,
sometimes numbers help fill out the picture. This information, gathered from
U.S. census records, numerically displays the situation in Iowa in 1904 with
regard to juvenile offenders. The tables provided here reveal the profile
of juvenile offenders by race, ethnicity and gender. Figures for the United
States, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Nebraska are included for purposes of comparison
to Iowa. Illinois ad Pennsylvania were the first two states to pass a juvenile
court law and Nebraska's demographic profile was similar, in 1904, to Iowa's.
The tables display a variety of categories with the intent of showing categories
of juvenile offenders and detention with a breakdown by state, race and gender.
By looking across various categories, one can see definite disparities, especially
in between races and genders.
Male Juvenile Delinquents Enumerated (1904)
150
Aggregate White:Native Born White: Foreign Born Colored US
PN
IL
IA
NE
18,177
1,461
1,062
503
164
14,130
1,108
780
463
150
1,562
140
92
1
8
2,482
213
190
39
6
Female Juvenile Delinquents Enumerated (1904)
Aggregate White: Native Born White: Foreign Born Colored US
PN
IL
IA
NE
4,857
231
324
211
---
3,859
160
267
133
---
312
18
20
4
---
680
52
37
24
---
Juvenile Delinquents Convicted of Crimes Against Society -- Committed(1904)
Drunkenness Disorderly Conduct Vagrancy
Male Female Male Female Male Female
US 15 7 665 136 621 93
PN --- --- 3 1 23 ---
IL --- --- --- 40 --- 2
IA --- --- 2 --- 2 9
NE --- --- --- --- 11 ---
Incorrigibility Truancy All Others
Male Female Male Female Male Female
US 1,789 592 1,166 56 549 2000
PN 232 78 12 --- 8 ---
IL --- 33 --- 14 3 3
IA 85 23 --- --- --- 3
NE 18 --- --- --- --- ---
Juvenile Delinquents Convicted of Offenses Against the Person –Committed (1904)
Assault Robbery All Other
Male Female Total Male Female
US 209 10 130 31 3
PN 11 --- 2 1 ---
IL 29 --- 73 10 ---
IA 2 --- 1 --- ---
NE 3 --- 2 1 ---
Literacy Rates for Juvenile Delinquents (10 years old +) – Committed(1904)
Males
Literate Illiterate* Not Stated
US 8,129 1,191 280
PN 357 74 177
IL 472 40 2
IA 104 8 ---
NE 66 1 ---
Females
Literate Illiterate Not Stated
US 1,388 160 5
PN 73 23 ---
IL 181 15 2
IA 33 3 ---
NE --- --- ---
- Illiterate in this case refers both to those who could read but not write and those who could neither read nor write.
- Source: Dept. of the Interior, Census Office. Report on Crime, Pauperism and Benevolence. GPO, 1896. Also, Prisoners and Juvenile Delinquents in Institutions, 1904. Dept. of Commerce and Labor; Bureau of the Census. GPO, 1907.
