Privileges of Turning 18
Adolescence is actually a new concept in law and psychology, dating only to the beginning of the 20th century. When American young people reach the age of 18 in today's society, they inherit privileges--and responsibilities--that some 18-year-olds in 19th century America and Europe would have taken for granted. They also acquire some that those same 19th century counterparts would never have expected to receive.
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Identification
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Privilege is a two-sided concept. The ability to be able to do something comes with a responsibility to actually do it correctly. The concept of an "age of majority" is also the end of "minority," or childhood. When a child reaches the age of majority, he or she is considered an "emancipated" minor. Emancipation means that a person becomes free to participate in society as an adult but must also complete tasks like providing her own food and shelter as do other adults.
Misconceptions
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Adolescents are neither are young adults nor old children. Medically, a child enters puberty between the ages of 11 and 13 and emerges as a physically and emotionally competent adult human between ages 19 and 20. Early 20th century reformers noticed that an exceptionally high number of children were killed or maimed in factories. When social scientists and doctors studied the age group, they discovered that physical ability, motor coordination and judgment developed along a continuum, beginning at the onset of puberty and finishing near the end of the teens. The first child labor laws were written to address this reality and American universal education was extended to keep children out of factories and teach them literacy skills needed in the new industrial economy.
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History
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Common Law considers children the property of their parents. Throughout history, the status, occupation and political positions of parents were transmitted to their children when they died. A beggar inherited poverty and a tenant farmer inherited the right to farm a plot of land just as a king inherited a crown and lands. Younger children who did not inherit learned trades or became merchants. With the industrial revolution in the late 18th century, the old social order began to break down and children, particularly younger ones, were sent from the farm to the cities to work in factories. They were considered as labor, no more or less by their employers, and worked the same hours for less pay because they tended to produce less and be injured more frequently. In today's developing countries, children not only work in factories but serve in military forces.
Benefits
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Modern American adolescents may marry, enter contracts, own property, vote in elections (regardless of race, gender or status as landowners), serve in the military, drive automobiles, purchase tobacco products and, in some states, consume certain types of alcohol. Many states allow adolescents to drive at 16 and some still allow marriage at 14, generally with parental permission. Each of these privileges has attached responsibility. In many states, adolescents are responsible for criminal acts as adults at age 17 and in all by 18. Any wage earner must pay income tax. All adults must support themselves.
Potential
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The problem with determining the age of majority is that not all adolescents mature at the same rates.
As nutrition improves and education becomes more accessible, majority may change. In a post-industrial or technological society, though, adulthood will still be determined by the organism's physical and mental maturity.
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