Hidden in Plain Sight: The Tragedy of Children's Rights from Ben Franklin to Lionel Tate

The Public Square

by Barbara Bennett Woodhouse

Hidden in Plain Sight tells the tragic untold story of children's rights in America. It asks why the United States today, alone among nations, rejects the most universally embraced human-rights document in history, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This book is a call to arms for America to again be a leader in human rights, and to join the rest of the civilized world in recognizing that the thirst for justice is not for adults alone.
Barbara Bennett Woodhouse explores the meaning of children's rights throughout American history, interweaving the childhood stories of iconic figures such as Benjamin Franklin with those of children less known but no less courageous, like the heroic youngsters who marched for civil rights. How did America become a place where twelve-year-old Lionel Tate could be sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1999 death of a young playmate? In answering questions like this, Woodhouse challenges those who misguidedly believe that America's children already have more rights than they need, or that children's rights pose a threat to parental autonomy or family values. She reveals why fundamental human rights and principles of dignity, equality, privacy, protection, and voice are essential to a child's journey into adulthood, and why understanding rights for children leads to a better understanding of human rights for all.
Compassionate, wise, and deeply moving, Hidden in Plain Sight will force an examination of our national resistance--and moral responsibility--to recognize children's rights.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

384 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2008

Reviews

[Kristen Luppino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book didn't age well, which is a shame, because the larger picture argument is an incredibly important one. That argument is that children in the US deserve better from lawmakers and generally. There are also some mismatches between her stated positions and what arguments she does make. Some of the developmental arguments could be said of adults as well as for children, so the argument in this book could be expanded drastically with powerful supporting claims.

[Madeleine McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of children who haven't been consulted when their rights are in question. Should they be consulted or not? this book says yes.