Prostitution in the United States today.
Who...what kind of people.
Where...where do they come from? ethnic, social/economic backgrounds.
When...how long in the career, change in life expectancy.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Essay number two. Compare/Contrast.
I was thinking of comparing growth and television.
thoughts?
Okay. so. my essay topic will be television in the US. Now and Then.
Prewrite...
What percentage of the population owned televisions around the 1960s? now?
Who owns televisions?
who sells televisions?
cost?
What types of programs were aired in the 1950/60s? now?
What were the differences in size, color, picture, etc?
Controlling Ideas...
1. Programming; variety, quantity, hours tv is on (now to 1960)
2. technology; size, color, broadcasting (now to 1960)
3.sponsers; commercials
4. standards
http://www.information-entertainment.com/Television/tv60.html
http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/tv/1960-1989.html
http://www.helium.com/items/569934-the-history-and-evolution-of-television-the-1960s-and-1970s
http://www.high-techproductions.com/historyoftelevision.htm
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2007/TamaraTamazashvili.shtml
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/misc/tvturnoff.asp
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=standardsand
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=unitedstatesn
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=censorship
thoughts?
Okay. so. my essay topic will be television in the US. Now and Then.
Prewrite...
What percentage of the population owned televisions around the 1960s? now?
Who owns televisions?
who sells televisions?
cost?
What types of programs were aired in the 1950/60s? now?
What were the differences in size, color, picture, etc?
Controlling Ideas...
1. Programming; variety, quantity, hours tv is on (now to 1960)
2. technology; size, color, broadcasting (now to 1960)
3.sponsers; commercials
4. standards
http://www.information-entertainment.com/Television/tv60.html
http://www.fcc.gov/omd/history/tv/1960-1989.html
http://www.helium.com/items/569934-the-history-and-evolution-of-television-the-1960s-and-1970s
http://www.high-techproductions.com/historyoftelevision.htm
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2007/TamaraTamazashvili.shtml
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/misc/tvturnoff.asp
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=standardsand
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=unitedstatesn
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=censorship
Television
How many people in the United States own a TV? What percentage of the population?
In the world?
Does TV affect behavior?
How much TV does the average person watch?
Television Statistics
According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.
I. FAMILY LIFE
II CHILDREN
III VIOLENCE
IV. COMMERCIALISM
V. GENERAL
Compiled by TV-Free America 1322 18th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
In the world?
Does TV affect behavior?
How much TV does the average person watch?
Television Statistics
- Percentage of households that possess at least one television: 99
- Number of TV sets in the average U.S. household: 2.24
- Percentage of U.S. homes with three or more TV sets: 66
- Number of hours per day that TV is on in an average U.S. home: 6 hours, 47 minutes
- Percentage of Americans that regularly watch television while eating dinner: 66
- Number of hours of TV watched annually by Americans: 250 billion
- Value of that time assuming an average wage of S5/hour: S1.25 trillion
- Percentage of Americans who pay for cable TV: 56
- Number of videos rented daily in the U.S.: 6 million
- Number of public library items checked out daily: 3 million
- Percentage of Americans who say they watch too much TV: 49
- Approximate number of studies examining TV's effects on children: 4,000
- Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful
- conversation with their children: 3.5
- Number of minutes per week that the average child watches television: 1,680
- Percentage of day care centers that use TV during a typical day: 70
- Percentage of parents who would like to limit their children's TV watching: 73
- Percentage of 4-6 year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV
- and spending time with their fathers, preferred television: 54
- Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
- Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500
- Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000
- Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000
- Percentage of Americans who believe TV violence helps precipitate real life mayhem: 79
- Number of 30-second TV commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000
- Number of TV commercials seen by the average person by age 65: 2 million
- Percentage of survey participants (1993) who said that TV commercials
- aimed at children make them too materialistic: 92
- Rank of food products/fast-food restaurants among TV advertisements to kids: 1
- Total spending by 100 leading TV advertisers in 1993: $15 billion
- Percentage of local TV news broadcast time devoted to advertising: 30
- Percentage devoted to stories about crime, disaster and war: 53.8
- Percentage devoted to public service announcements: 0.7
- Percentage of Americans who can name The Three Stooges: 59
- Percentage who can name at least three justices of the U.S. Supreme Court: 17
Influence of Television- For decades, research and studies have demonstrated that heavy television-viewing may lead to serious health consequences. Now the American medical community, which has long-voiced its concerns about the nation's epidemic of violence, TV addiction and the passive, sedentary nature of TV-watching, is taking a more activist stance, demonstrated by its endorsement of National TV-Turnoff Week.
- The average child will watch 8,000 murders on TV before finishing elementary school. By age eighteen, the average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV, including 40,000 murders. At a meeting in Nashville, TN last July, Dr. John Nelson of the American Medical Association (an endorser of National TV-Turnoff Week) said that if 2,888 out of 3,000 studies show that TV violence is a casual factor in real-life mayhem, "it's a public health problem." The American Psychiatric Association addressed this problem in its endorsement of National TV-Turnoff Week, stating, "We have had a long-standing concern with the impact of television on behavior, especially among children."
- Millions of Americans are so hooked on television that they fit the criteria for substance abuse as defined in the official psychiatric manual, according to Rutgers University psychologist and TV-Free America board member Robert Kubey. Heavy TV viewers exhibit five dependency symptoms--two more than necessary to arrive at a clinical diagnosis of substance abuse. These include: 1) using TV as a sedative; 2) indiscriminate viewing; 3) feeling loss of control while viewing; 4) feeling angry with oneself for watching too much; 5) inability to stop watching; and 6) feeling miserable when kept from watching.
- Violence and addiction are not the only TV-related health problems. A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey released in October 1995 found 4.7 million children between the ages of 6-17 (11% of this age group) to be severely overweight, more than twice the rate during the 1960's. The main culprits: inactivity (these same children average more than 22 hours of television-viewing a week) and a high-calorie diet. A 1991 study showed that there were an average of 200 junk food ads in four hours of children's Saturday morning cartoons.
- According to William H. Deitz, pediatrician and prominent obesity expert at Tufts University School of Medicine, "The easiest way to reduce inactivity is to turn off the TV set. Almost anything else uses more energy than watching TV."
- Children are not the only Americans suffering from weight problems; one-third of American adults are overweight. According to an American Journal of Public Health study, an adult who watches three hours of TV a day is far more likely to be obese than an adult who watches less than one hour.
- Sometimes the problem is not too much weight; it's too little. Seventy-five percent of American women believe they are too fat, an image problem that often leads to bulimia or anorexia. Sound strange? Not when one takes into account that female models and actresses are twenty-three percent thinner than the average woman and thinner than ninety-five percent of the female population.
Time Flies
Does time really "fly" when having fun?
Where did the phrase "time flies" originate?
Does time go faster when you're older?
Where did the phrase "time flies" originate?
Does time go faster when you're older?
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Prostitution, 19th Century, United States
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
Prostitution, the exchange of sex for money, is said to be the oldest occupation, and throughout it’s history has been a topic of heated debate. This controversial occupation has been around since long before the founding of America, and became a part of the country soon after it’s discovery. However, prostitution was not a serious problem in the country until the late 1800s, mainly because during the colonial and early national periods leading up to this time it was a very irregular occupation and people simply ignored it. (Prostitution). By the nineteenth century prostitution started to rise in the United States, especially out west, and throughout this century it would become a heated debate whether to simply regulate the act or abolish it altogether; by the beginning of the 20th century, legislation regarding prostitution was underway.
Although prominently out west, prostitution could be found in all different places throughout the United States, and was a quickly growing profession in the nineteenth century. Already present in the Louisiana Territory when the United States purchased it from France, prostitution spread to major cities like New York and Chicago, but also to saloons and outposts in the west (Prostitution in the United States). Brothels could be found in all different areas—mining towns, cow towns, logging camps, large cities, cattle-shipping centers, end-of-track towns, army settlements, and frontier boon towns (Soiled Doves of the Old West); these same brothels ranged from makeshift tents to dignified mansions, and even portable brothels that traveled around the country (Soiled Doves of the Old West). Considering prostitution had been around in the west before the west became a part of America, it makes sense that prostitutes were some of the first to populate and establish businesses in the west; they played a significant role in developing areas (Soiled Doves of the Old West). Prostitution then continued to increase along with industrial cities and the opening of the western frontier, and soon after became generally accepted in “red-light” districts (Prostitution), which are districts with many brothels that formerly displayed red lights (Red Light District). It soon turned into an industrialized business with economic growth (Prostitution: Then and Now) and people became aware of it’s strong presence in the country. As this occupation continued to grow throughout America during this century, the shame and reluctance to talk about it weakened (American Social Hygiene Association), and controversy soon followed.
The growth of prostitution and especially of “red-light” districts led to a concern over venereal diseases, and now that the population had little fear of speaking on the subject, two different standpoints resulted (Prostitution). W.W. Sanger, a New York Physician, led the side favoring regulation of prostitution—this standpoint wanted to require obligatory medical exams and confine the practice to the red-light districts (Prostitution); on the other side, the English reformer Josephine Elizabeth Butler greatly influenced the standpoint of abolishing prostitution altogether (Prostitution). Some cities abandoned the hope of legal prohibition and instead hoped that they could bring it under real control; they argued that real control of prostitution would reduce the crime rate and disorder that accompanied brothels, and that having designated areas would protect neighborhoods (The Social Evil Ordinance). At the same time, police and physicians were concerned with controlling venereal diseases, sanitation, and crime (Prostitution: Then and Now), while some physicians and doctors claimed that without prostitutes men would seduce or rape innocent women and long abstinence for men would result in physiological disorders and insanity (The Social Evil Ordinance). Other arguments for regulating prostitution included the fact that many respectable people made a large income with this big business (The Social Evil Ordinance) and that the side to abolish the occupation offered no alternative means of living for prostitutes (Prostitution: Then and Now). However, the side in favor of abolishing prostitution brought to light just as many points. They argued that the doctors in charge of running routine examinations on prostitutes fell behind in their work and began issuing certificates of good health without conducting exams, and that the law to regulate it gave police too much authority (The Social Evil Ordinance). Even newspapers began to condemn the practice and the idea that it could be regulated, and opposition quickly grew among clergy (The Social Evil Ordinance); Reformers and Christians not only wanted to abolish prostitution altogether, but also wanted to educate children to stay away from it because moral tradition and social concern believed it was the ultimate social evil (Prostitution: Then and Now). This moral crusade wanted to prevent the spread of venereal diseases as well in order to protect the American family (American Social Hygiene Association). The movement to outlaw prostitution gained immeasurably when venereal specialists of the time decided that the consequences of gonorrhea and syphilis were so horrible that traditional views and attitudes were forced to change (Prostitution), and because of venereal diseases the American Social Hygiene Association formed and gave scientific backing to the movement to abolish prostitution (Prostitution). The debate over prostitution continued throughout this century, and in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, an increasing number of cities and states started acting to restrict prostitution (Prostitution).
By the late 1800s, cities and states in America began passing laws to restrict or abolish prostitution. St Louis became the only city to regulate prostitution and define it to red-light districts through the Social Evil Ordinance passed in 1870 (Prostitution). The Social Evil Ordinance gave the Board of Health the power to regulate prostitution by requiring medical examinations and licensing of brothels (Historical Timeline); this “social evil law” recognized brothels as legitimate enterprises, like saloons, that had to be licensed by the city. It also required brothel keepers and prostitutes to register with police and pay fees to the board of health. This money would be used to pay physicians to examine prostitutes and aid hospitals where infected women were confined. Next to the hospitals would be “houses of industry” where women could learn domestic skills, in hopes they would pursue a different line of work (The Social Evil Ordinance). However, in 1874 the Missouri State Legislature was petitioned to repeal the ordinance and by spring of that year licensed prostitution was no longer present in St. Louis (The Social Evil Ordinance). Instead, a bill was passed to prevent abuse of police power in regards to prostitution, but it failed to explicitly prohibit the keeping of a house of prostitution, therefore brothels and prostitutes could no longer be licensed but they were not illegal (The Social Evil Ordinance). The United States Congress started to get involved in 1875 with the Page Act, which prevented the entry of Asian immigrants for prostitution and forced labor (Page Act of 1875). In 1857, New Orleans passed their first anti-prostitution ordinance, the Lorrette Ordinance, which prohibited prostitution on the first floor of buildings, but was soon after declared unconstitutional; more regulations were made that led up to the creation of the red-light district Storyville in 1897. Brothels were then legal in New Orleans from 1897-1917 (Prostitution in the United States); however, prostitution ended legally in New Orleans in 1917 due to concerns over health risks to US soldiers (Historical Timeline). The Iowa Injunction and Abatement Law of 1909 took aim at law enforcement officials who were reluctant to move against established houses of prostitution (Prostitution), and in 1910 the US federal government passed the Mann Act, or White Slave Traffic Act, which outlawed procuring and transporting women across state borders for immoral purposes (Prostitution). Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, stated began to encourage the arrest of prostitutes for crimes like vagrancy and loitering (Comparison). In 1914, the American Social Hygiene Association was founded by group of public health reformers committed to attacking an undesirable social condition that they believed could be improved through medical and educational means (American Social Hygiene Association); by 1915 nearly all states had passed laws regarding the keeping of brothels or profiting in other ways from the earnings of prostitutes (Comparison); finally, by the 1920s legally tolerated districts of prostitution had mostly disappeared (Prostitution). From the 1800s into the early 1900s, many legal actions were taken regarding prostitution, and in the end the majority of the United States legally prohibited it.
Throughout the nineteenth century, Prostitution in the United States grew into a popular occupation, sparked heated debates, and eventually came to be abolished in most areas of the country. This aged profession came long before the founding of America, and became a controversial issue in the country soon after purchasing the Louisiana Territory. Brothels stretched across the nation in all different types of areas, and in a short time two different views on prostitution emerged—whether to regulate or abolish the act. Legislation at first favored regulation, but by the beginning of the twentieth century nearly all parts of the country had abolished prostitution; although one of the oldest professions, it is not one that would remain legal in America.
Works Cited
"American Social Hygiene Association." Learn about STDs/STIs. Web. 4 Sept. 2010. <http://www.ashastd.org/about/about_history.cfm>.
Comparison, By. "Prostitution: West's Encyclopedia of American Law (Full Article) from Answers.com." Web. 5 Sept. 2010. <http://www.answers.com/topic/prostitution>.
"Historical Timeline - Prostitution - ProCon.org." Prostitution ProCon.org -- Should Prostitution Be Legal? Web. 6 Sept. 2010. <http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000117>.
"Page Act of 1875." World Lingo. Web. 6 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Page_Act_of_1875>.
"Prostitution in the United States." Exotic World Traveler. Web. 5 Sept. 2010. <http://www.exoticworldtraveler.com/2009/07/14/prositution-in-the-united-states/>.
"Prostitution." Novelguide: Free Study Guides, Free Book Summaries, Free Book Notes, & More. Web. 4 Sept. 2010. <http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html>.
"Prostitution: Then and Now." Hepatitis, AIDS, Research Trust. Web. 8 Sept. 2010. <http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm>.
"Red-light District - Definition of Red-light District at YourDictionary.com." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Free Online at Your Dictionary. Web. 5 Sept. 2010. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/red-light-district>.
"The Social Evil Ordinance." American Heritage: History's Homepage. Web. 4 Sept. 2010. <http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml>.
Soiled Doves of the Old West. Web. 6 Sept. 2010. <http://www.soiled-doves.com/>.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tell me something I don't know.
The History of Prostitution.
where and why did it originate?
where legal vs illegal? when were changes made to this?
I started out with this as my topic, and soon realized it was far too broad. After researching I decided to narrow it down to prostitution in the United States in the 1800s.
During this centruy, prostitution started to appear throughout the United States which sparked much debate. By the end of the century legislation started to pass regarding prostitution. In my essay I will focus on the rise and points of each sight of the debate--whether to regulate prostitution or abolish it alogther--and finally on what came to happen with legislation.
Thesis:
Starting in the middle of the 19th century, prostitution started to rise in the United States, and throughout this century it would become a heated debate whether to simply regulate the act or abolish it altogether; by the beginning of the 20th century, legislation regarding prostitution was underway.
Paragraph 2—overview of what and where in this time period
Paragraph 3—debate: regulate vs. abolish
Paragraph 4—legislation
My purpose is to inform my audience about prostitution in the 1800s and make sure they have a clear understanding of what the two sides stood for, and what happened by the end of the century.
The History of Prostitution: Outline
I. Intro
a. Prostitution=exchange of money for sex
b. Not serious social problem until end of nineteenth century in the US
c. Had practiced English common law of ignoring
d. During colonial and early national periods prostitution was an irregular occupation
e. Thesis: In the nineteenth century prostitution started to rise in the United States, especially out west, and throughout this century it would become a heated debate whether to simply regulate the act or abolish it altogether; by the beginning of the 20th century, legislation regarding prostitution was underway.
http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
II. Overview of Prostitution
a. Present in Louisiana territory owned by the French, major cities like New York and Chicago, saloons and outposts out west http://www.exoticworldtraveler.com/2009/07/14/prositution-in-the-united-states/
b. Increase with growth of industrial cities and opening of western frontier, Generally accepted in “red-light” districts http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
c. Prostitutes were among the first to populate and establish businesses out west; significant in developing areas http://www.soiled-doves.com/
d. Makeshift tents to stately mansions; mobile cat wagons or portable brothels traveled the country http://www.soiled-doves.com/
e. Mining towns, cow towns, logging camps, large cities, cattle-shipping centers, end-of-track towns, army settlements, frontier boom towns http://www.soiled-doves.com/
f. Research during 1800’s found majority of prostitutes were young, illiterate, poor, broken families; immigrants w/o money or forced, usually Asian women http://www.soiled-doves.com/
g. Red-light district=district with many brothels that formerly displayed red lights http://www.yourdictionary.com/red-light-district
h. Dr. William Sanger found majority late teens or early twenties; illiterate, poor, broken families http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
i. Economic poverty, societal disgrace, lack of education causes http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
j. Prostitution evolved into an industrialized business, had economic development http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
k. The shame and reluctance to talk about sexuality was weakened throughout the century, public becomes aware of dangers of venereal diseases http://www.ashastd.org/about/about_history.cfm
III. Debate: regulate vs. abolish
a. Growth of red-light districts and concern of venereal diseases resulted in two different standpoints http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
b. NY physician W.W. Sanger led group in favor of regulating—wanted to require compulsory medical exams and confine to red-light districts http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
c. Josephine Elizabeth Butler, an English reformer, influenced the other side—to abolish it altogether http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
d. Increasing number of citied and states acted to curtail prostitution in the last two decades of the 19th century http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
e. Movement to outlaw gained immeasurably when venereal specialists decided that consequences of gonorrhea and syphilis were so horrible that traditional attitudes and traditions had to change http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
f. Physicians and doctors argued that w/o prostitutes men would seduce or rape innocent women and suggested that prolonged abstinence for men would result in physiological disorders and insanity http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
g. Prostitution was a big business where even respectable people made a large income http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
h. Some cities abandoned the hope of legal prohibition in hopes to bring it under real control. Argued that controlling prostitution would reduce crime and disorder that accompanied life in bawdy houses, Having designated areas would help protect neighborhoods http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
i. (St. Louis social evil ordinance) Doctors assigned to examine St. Louis’ registered prostitutes (St. Louis first to do so) fell far behind and began issuing certificates of good health w/o conducting examinations http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
j. The new law in St. Louis was giving police too much authority in private lives—attorneys argued the ordinance was a more serious threat to civil liberties than one prohibiting it http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
k. Opposition grew among clergy; protestants and Catholics supported repealing the ordinance; newspapers also began to condemn it; St. Louis women against it-4,000 signed petition for nullification http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
l. Reformers and Christians wanted to abolish it altogether and educate children to stay away from it
http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
m. Moral traditions and social concern believed that it was the ultimate social evil http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
n. no alternate means of living was offered to prostitutes
http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
o. police and physicians more concerned with realistic of controlling venereal diseases, sanitation, and crime http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
p. moral crusade wanted to prevent spread of venereal diseases and protect the the future of the American family http://www.ashastd.org/about/about_history.cfm
IV. legislation
a. 1897-1917, brothels were legal in New Orleans http://www.exoticworldtraveler.com/2009/07/14/prositution-in-the-united-states/
b. Only city to regulate and define to red light districts was St. Louis between 1870-1874 http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
c. Because of venereal diseases, the American Social Hygiene Association formed and gave scientific backing to the movement to abolish prostitution http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
d. Iowa Injunction and Abatement Law of 1909 took aim at law enforcement officials who were reluctant to move against established houses. http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
e. US federal government 1910 the Mann Act or White Slave Traffic Act which outlawed procuring and transporting women across state borders for immoral purposes http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
f. By 1920s legally tolerated districts had mostly disappeared http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
g. “social evil law”—social evil ordinance—in St. Louis recognized a legitimate enterprise that, like a saloon, had to be licensed by the city; passed in 1870; required brothel keepers and prostitutes to register with police and pay fees to board of health. Money would be used to pay physicians to examine prostitutes and aid hospital where infected women were confined. Next to the hospitals would be “houses of industry” where women could learn domestic skills, in hopes they would pursue a different line of work. http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
h. 1874, 72 St. Louis attorneys petitioned Missouri state legislature to repeal the ordinance and in February 1874 a bill was introduced to repeal the clause, mid-march the “regulate” clause in the city charter was repealed; by spring of 1874 licensed prostitution was finished in St. Louis http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
i. Spring of 1874, bill to prevent abuse of police power and under penalty of fine had to ignore the operation of brothels. It failed explicitly to prohibit the keeping of a house of prostitution. They could no longer be licensed but they were not illegal http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
j. Page Act of 1875, US Congress, immigrants from China and Japan required to be processed at the port of departure by US Consulates; prevented entry of both prostitutes and forced laborers http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Page_Act_of_1875
k. by 1915 nearly all states had passed laws regarding the keeping of brothels or profiting in other ways from the earnings of prostitutes. http://www.answers.com/topic/prostitution
l. in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, states began to encourage the arrest of prostitutes for such crimes as vagrancy and loitering http://www.answers.com/topic/prostitution
m. the social evil ordinance in St. Louis empowered the Board of Health to regulate prostitution. Required registration and medical examinations and licensing of brothels. Nullified by Missouri state legislature in 1874, http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000117
n. New Orleans—first anti-prostitution ordinance in 1857—Lorette Ordinance prohibited prostitution on the first floor of buildings, soon after declared unconstitutional. More regulations made and led up to the creation of red-light district Storyville in 1897. Prostitution ended legally in 1917 due to concerns over health risks to US soldiers. http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000117
o. American Social Hygiene Association in 1914 founded by group of public health reformers committed to attacking an undesirable social condition that they believed could be improved through medical and educational means http://www.ashastd.org/about/about_history.cfm
p. James Robert Mann, American legislator, author of Mann act, forbade transportation of women from one state to another for immoral purposes http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyjohnso/MannAct.htm
where and why did it originate?
where legal vs illegal? when were changes made to this?
I started out with this as my topic, and soon realized it was far too broad. After researching I decided to narrow it down to prostitution in the United States in the 1800s.
During this centruy, prostitution started to appear throughout the United States which sparked much debate. By the end of the century legislation started to pass regarding prostitution. In my essay I will focus on the rise and points of each sight of the debate--whether to regulate prostitution or abolish it alogther--and finally on what came to happen with legislation.
Thesis:
Starting in the middle of the 19th century, prostitution started to rise in the United States, and throughout this century it would become a heated debate whether to simply regulate the act or abolish it altogether; by the beginning of the 20th century, legislation regarding prostitution was underway.
Paragraph 2—overview of what and where in this time period
Paragraph 3—debate: regulate vs. abolish
Paragraph 4—legislation
My purpose is to inform my audience about prostitution in the 1800s and make sure they have a clear understanding of what the two sides stood for, and what happened by the end of the century.
The History of Prostitution: Outline
I. Intro
a. Prostitution=exchange of money for sex
b. Not serious social problem until end of nineteenth century in the US
c. Had practiced English common law of ignoring
d. During colonial and early national periods prostitution was an irregular occupation
e. Thesis: In the nineteenth century prostitution started to rise in the United States, especially out west, and throughout this century it would become a heated debate whether to simply regulate the act or abolish it altogether; by the beginning of the 20th century, legislation regarding prostitution was underway.
http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
II. Overview of Prostitution
a. Present in Louisiana territory owned by the French, major cities like New York and Chicago, saloons and outposts out west http://www.exoticworldtraveler.com/2009/07/14/prositution-in-the-united-states/
b. Increase with growth of industrial cities and opening of western frontier, Generally accepted in “red-light” districts http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
c. Prostitutes were among the first to populate and establish businesses out west; significant in developing areas http://www.soiled-doves.com/
d. Makeshift tents to stately mansions; mobile cat wagons or portable brothels traveled the country http://www.soiled-doves.com/
e. Mining towns, cow towns, logging camps, large cities, cattle-shipping centers, end-of-track towns, army settlements, frontier boom towns http://www.soiled-doves.com/
f. Research during 1800’s found majority of prostitutes were young, illiterate, poor, broken families; immigrants w/o money or forced, usually Asian women http://www.soiled-doves.com/
g. Red-light district=district with many brothels that formerly displayed red lights http://www.yourdictionary.com/red-light-district
h. Dr. William Sanger found majority late teens or early twenties; illiterate, poor, broken families http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
i. Economic poverty, societal disgrace, lack of education causes http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
j. Prostitution evolved into an industrialized business, had economic development http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
k. The shame and reluctance to talk about sexuality was weakened throughout the century, public becomes aware of dangers of venereal diseases http://www.ashastd.org/about/about_history.cfm
III. Debate: regulate vs. abolish
a. Growth of red-light districts and concern of venereal diseases resulted in two different standpoints http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
b. NY physician W.W. Sanger led group in favor of regulating—wanted to require compulsory medical exams and confine to red-light districts http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
c. Josephine Elizabeth Butler, an English reformer, influenced the other side—to abolish it altogether http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
d. Increasing number of citied and states acted to curtail prostitution in the last two decades of the 19th century http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
e. Movement to outlaw gained immeasurably when venereal specialists decided that consequences of gonorrhea and syphilis were so horrible that traditional attitudes and traditions had to change http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
f. Physicians and doctors argued that w/o prostitutes men would seduce or rape innocent women and suggested that prolonged abstinence for men would result in physiological disorders and insanity http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
g. Prostitution was a big business where even respectable people made a large income http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
h. Some cities abandoned the hope of legal prohibition in hopes to bring it under real control. Argued that controlling prostitution would reduce crime and disorder that accompanied life in bawdy houses, Having designated areas would help protect neighborhoods http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
i. (St. Louis social evil ordinance) Doctors assigned to examine St. Louis’ registered prostitutes (St. Louis first to do so) fell far behind and began issuing certificates of good health w/o conducting examinations http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
j. The new law in St. Louis was giving police too much authority in private lives—attorneys argued the ordinance was a more serious threat to civil liberties than one prohibiting it http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
k. Opposition grew among clergy; protestants and Catholics supported repealing the ordinance; newspapers also began to condemn it; St. Louis women against it-4,000 signed petition for nullification http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
l. Reformers and Christians wanted to abolish it altogether and educate children to stay away from it
http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
m. Moral traditions and social concern believed that it was the ultimate social evil http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
n. no alternate means of living was offered to prostitutes
http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
o. police and physicians more concerned with realistic of controlling venereal diseases, sanitation, and crime http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/120606/Prostitution-Then.htm
p. moral crusade wanted to prevent spread of venereal diseases and protect the the future of the American family http://www.ashastd.org/about/about_history.cfm
IV. legislation
a. 1897-1917, brothels were legal in New Orleans http://www.exoticworldtraveler.com/2009/07/14/prositution-in-the-united-states/
b. Only city to regulate and define to red light districts was St. Louis between 1870-1874 http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
c. Because of venereal diseases, the American Social Hygiene Association formed and gave scientific backing to the movement to abolish prostitution http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
d. Iowa Injunction and Abatement Law of 1909 took aim at law enforcement officials who were reluctant to move against established houses. http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
e. US federal government 1910 the Mann Act or White Slave Traffic Act which outlawed procuring and transporting women across state borders for immoral purposes http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
f. By 1920s legally tolerated districts had mostly disappeared http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/dah_06/dah_06_03432.html
g. “social evil law”—social evil ordinance—in St. Louis recognized a legitimate enterprise that, like a saloon, had to be licensed by the city; passed in 1870; required brothel keepers and prostitutes to register with police and pay fees to board of health. Money would be used to pay physicians to examine prostitutes and aid hospital where infected women were confined. Next to the hospitals would be “houses of industry” where women could learn domestic skills, in hopes they would pursue a different line of work. http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
h. 1874, 72 St. Louis attorneys petitioned Missouri state legislature to repeal the ordinance and in February 1874 a bill was introduced to repeal the clause, mid-march the “regulate” clause in the city charter was repealed; by spring of 1874 licensed prostitution was finished in St. Louis http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
i. Spring of 1874, bill to prevent abuse of police power and under penalty of fine had to ignore the operation of brothels. It failed explicitly to prohibit the keeping of a house of prostitution. They could no longer be licensed but they were not illegal http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1982/2/1982_2_50.shtml
j. Page Act of 1875, US Congress, immigrants from China and Japan required to be processed at the port of departure by US Consulates; prevented entry of both prostitutes and forced laborers http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Page_Act_of_1875
k. by 1915 nearly all states had passed laws regarding the keeping of brothels or profiting in other ways from the earnings of prostitutes. http://www.answers.com/topic/prostitution
l. in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, states began to encourage the arrest of prostitutes for such crimes as vagrancy and loitering http://www.answers.com/topic/prostitution
m. the social evil ordinance in St. Louis empowered the Board of Health to regulate prostitution. Required registration and medical examinations and licensing of brothels. Nullified by Missouri state legislature in 1874, http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000117
n. New Orleans—first anti-prostitution ordinance in 1857—Lorette Ordinance prohibited prostitution on the first floor of buildings, soon after declared unconstitutional. More regulations made and led up to the creation of red-light district Storyville in 1897. Prostitution ended legally in 1917 due to concerns over health risks to US soldiers. http://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000117
o. American Social Hygiene Association in 1914 founded by group of public health reformers committed to attacking an undesirable social condition that they believed could be improved through medical and educational means http://www.ashastd.org/about/about_history.cfm
p. James Robert Mann, American legislator, author of Mann act, forbade transportation of women from one state to another for immoral purposes http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyjohnso/MannAct.htm
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