Crime In The Progressive Era

The early twentieth century brought about several progressive ideas for reforms, but there was little action upon those ideas. The crime rate did not experience any major change at the start of the new century; the types of crimes and violence level remained mostly unchanged (Oliver & Hilgenberg, 2010, 213-215). Strained race relations and poverty influenced much of the crime, as portrayed in the court case of the State v. John Dobias. One major theme seen within this case is the exploration of gender roles through rape in the American society and whether there is potential partiality towards the feminine gender. Moreover, it examines how dependency, in terms of poverty or orphanage, can influence the lives of an individual and how religious …show more content…
Moreover, the public opinion is often skewed by religious beliefs, which consequently influences how a criminal is defined in that particular society. Prior to the progressive era, religion played a large role in society and often aided in setting the standards for what was considered a crime. Throughout the progressive era, this theme remained mostly unchanged. Different religious groups were still politically involved in situations regarding the state. For example, Smith mentions on page 100 that the Church was deeply involved in the social, political, and economic issues of society, attempting to reform it (100). Religion was still a highly influential factor in all aspects of the society, including setting the standard for a criminal. Religion has been involved in the law for a long time because even the practice of taking an oath before testifying is an attempt to awaken ones conscience and prevent them from lying – it is like a guilt trip. During the early 1900’s, religion was extremely important and the idea of good character was constantly stressed (Smith, 97). Individuals had to be well informed about religion, while also practicing it and having good …show more content…
It also dealt with the issue of orphans or foster children that are forced to depend on others, how it influences them, and the overpopulation of the children aid societies at the time. Besides that, this was mainly an isolated event, but involved a large amount of the community due to the different themes that were involved in the crime. This includes the major theme of gender roles that was so prominent due to the crime at hand being a sexual assault. The crime was typical in terms of being similar to what an ordinary and common crime was considered to be at the time. Many themes addressed in terms of legality were in accordance with the norms of the 1910’s, especially when taking the influence of religion into account. The parameters introduced in this case were exemplar of what was legal versus criminal during the early 1900’s. This specific case showed that during this era, criminal activity was highly controlled by religion and by ones economic conditions. Yet, gender roles were starting to be socially challenged, so people could potentially manipulate criminal activity depending on their gender. For example, Mary could have been lying for her advantage, with her gender and social circumstances working in her favor. Overall, criminal behavior in the progressive era dealt heavily with religion, gender, and