Sampson Selig: the 1896 election and children in American political history
Children remain disenfranchised. They are formally divorced from political participation and are unable to directly influence who is elected to their local board of supervisors, never mind who enters the White House. But American political history is incomplete without considering the nation’s youngsters. Firstly, children wield immense soft political power due to common adult perceptions of childhood innocence and vulnerability. In most elections, the question of what type of America should be inherited by the next generation is prominent. Adult campaigners frequently lean on ideas of childhood to support their cause. But children seek to intervene in political discourse too. They have proven themselves capable of influencing local and national politics including as speechmakers. Thirteen-year-old Brayden Harrington’s contribution to the 2020 Democratic Convention may have seemed unusual but the use of a child orator is nothing new. The Biden campaign facilitated his speaking as it was of political benefit, but […]
Faith-healer parents, child brides, and 12-year-old Tobacco pickers
The day before President Joseph R. Biden’s inauguration, the National Children’s campaign held a virtual children’s inauguration. Speakers included politicians, such as Massachusetts senator Ed Markey (D), and young activists themselves, several of whom called for the creation of a ‘White House office for kids’, arguing that the political establishment fails to consider and protect the rights of young Americans. This article briefly details three areas where children are not protected from harm: medical neglect law, child marriage, and child labour in agriculture. Based on the standards the US federal government applies to other countries, its failure to ratify international agreements on children’s rights, and aspects of the US Constitution, the United States must be considered a failing state when it comes to children’s rights. Children’s Medical and Fourteenth Amendment Rights With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination response, parental rights to refuse vaccinations for children has once again been […]