Georgetown University LogoGeorgetown University Library LogoDigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown Law Library
    • Manuscripts
    • MSS.049 - Gender and Legal History in America Papers
    • View Item
    •   DigitalGeorgetown Home
    • Georgetown Law Library
    • Manuscripts
    • MSS.049 - Gender and Legal History in America Papers
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Save the Girls! American's Fear of White Slavery

    Summary

    Save the Girls! examines the white slavery scare of the early 20th century. Analyzing the Mann Act and using New York white slavery primary sources as a detailed case study, the paper casts doubt on the existence of white slavery. Neither the Mann Act nor the sensational white slavery trials held in New York actually uncovered a criminal ring of white slave traders.

    First the paper gives a brief overview on the Mann Act. Then using newspaper articles from the 1910s, it tells the detailed story of the white slavery hysteria in New York. The paper then proceeds to analyze why American society was so heavily influenced by these implausible tales of white slavery. The author argues that a unique convergence of social pressures, combined with the reform-minded Progressive movement led to a society that was willing to accept the existence of white slavery.

    At the turn of the century, the practice of prostitution was pervasive in most large cities in the United States. The pimp system was gaining in popularity and prostitution was becoming a big business. In addition, society was dramatically changing. A huge influx of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, along with African-Americans from the South, were changing the composition of northern cities. The status of women was in flux because more and more women were abandoning the traditional domestic sphere and moving to the city in search of employment. The social hygiene movement had opened the door to discussions of taboo subjects such as prostitution and sex. Moreover, unlike the Victorians, the Progressive reform movement did not tolerate prostitution as a necessary evil. Thus the pervasiveness of prostitution could no longer be ignored. These social pressures created an American climate that was perfect for accepting the tales of white slavery as truth.

    Creator
    Drew, Kendel
    Bibliographic Citation
    Drew, Kendel Save the Girls! American's Fear of White Slavery (2006)
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1051134
    Date
    2006
    Type
    Article
    Collections
    • MSS.049 - Gender and Legal History in America Papers
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Understanding Evil: American Slavery, the Holocaust, and the Conquest of the American Indians 

      Sterba, James P. (1996-01)
    Related Items in Google Scholar

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2022 Georgetown Law Library
    111 G. Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001
    202.662.9131
    https://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/
     

     

    Browse

    All of DigitalGeorgetownCommunities & CollectionsCreatorsTitlesBy Creation DateThis CollectionCreatorsTitlesBy Creation Date

    My Account

    Login

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2022 Georgetown Law Library
    111 G. Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001
    202.662.9131
    https://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/