Benjamin Barr Lindsey (November 25, 1869 – March 26, 1943) was an American judge and social reformer based in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

during the Progressive Era.

Early life

Benjamin Barr Lindsey was born in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

, to former Confederate captain Landy Tunstall Lindsey. He was educated in the public schools and attended Southwest Baptist University (now Union University). His father committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

when Ben was 18, leaving him the sole support of his mother and her three younger children. He obtained employment in a real-estate office in Denver, where he studied law in his spare time. In despair over his slow progress in his law studies, he attempted suicide, but his gun misfired. In 1894, he entered the practice of law in Denver. In his work, he was often assisted by his wife, Henrietta, whom he had married in 1914. He was appointed to a vacancy in the county court in 1900.

Juvenile court

Lindsey was a pioneer in the establishment of the juvenile court system. Through his efforts, an act was passed creating a juvenile court in Denver which represented an important advance in relation of the law to children and would go on to serve as a model for future juvenile courts across America. Lindsey was made

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the juvenile court in 1901 (which became a juvenile and family relations court in 1907). He held the position continuously, but he was not endorsed by either political party in 1908. Among other measures to which Lindsey contributed his influence were a reform of the registration law, greatly reducing election frauds; a reform of the

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

; state provisions for the support of the dependents of people serving in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

; extension of the

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

system for prisoners; organization of public baths and playgrounds in Denver; the

institution An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and ...

of the fresh-air movement in Denver; and enactment of statewide Mother's Pension Law. He was a leader in the movement to abolish child labor. He carried on an active

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

for the general adoption of the juvenile court plan, and for political and social reform, through lectures delivered in many American and foreign cities and through the publication of books and pamphlets, of which ''The Beast'' (with Harvey J. O'Higgins, 1910) was widely circulated. In 1906, Lindsey was a candidate for

governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of Government of Colorado, Colorado's state government and is cha ...

, and in 1912 became a member of the Progressive National Committee.

Companionate marriage

In early 1927, Lindsey co-wrote a controversial book about what he called ''The Companionate Marriage'', in which he suggested that young men and women should be able to live together in a trial marriage, where the couple could have a year to evaluate whether or not they were suitable with each other. The only caveat was they had to agree not to have children. If after a year, the couple decided to stay together, they could do so, but if the relationship didn't work out, they would be able to dissolve the relationship easily. Also, if they decided they were compatible and did want children, they could change the status of their relationship to a traditionally understood marriage. Since one of the most common discourses in the popular culture was about women having children, and many

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

believed that

sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (also coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion of the Erection, erect male Human penis, penis inside the female vagina and followed by Pelvic thrust, thrusting motions for sexual pleasure ...

within marriage should only be for purposes of procreation, Lindsey's essay aroused strong emotions; a number of

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

and ministers, as well as civic leaders accused him of promoting

immorality Immorality is the violation of moral laws, norms or standards. It refers to an agent doing or thinking something they know or believe to be wrong. Immorality is normally applied to people or actions, or in a broader sense, it can be applied to ...

, promiscuity and

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the State (polity), state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues we ...

, charges that he denied. At one point, even the Pope spoke out against him.

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

, in his 1929 book '' Marriage and Morals'', wrote approvingly of Lindsey's proposals but observed that they "were received with a howl of horror by all middle-aged persons and most of the newspapers throughout the length and breadth of America."Russell, Bertrand, ''Marriage and Morals'', Ch. 12, p.164.
/ref> In Denver, he was ousted from the bench, after 28 years of service. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' expressed the view that his views on companionate marriage had destroyed his reputation. Lindsey continued to defend his views on radio and in a series of speaking engagements.

In popular culture

In 1919, Lindsey wrote the introduction to ''Madeleine: An Autobiography'', the memoirs of former

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

Madeleine Blair, an exposé of brothels in the 19th-century American West. Judge Lindsey appeared as himself in the film '' The Soul of Youth'' (1920), directed by William Desmond Taylor, and in ''Judge Ben Lindsey in the Juvenile Court'' (1921), the latter film made in the experimental Photokinema sound-on-disc process. "Benjamin Barr Lindsey", episode 24 of the historical

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...

TV series '' Profiles in Courage'', based upon John F. Kennedy's

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning book, was broadcast on April 25, 1965, with George Grizzard portraying Lindsey in 1906, at the time of his advocacy for juvenile justice reform. He is a

recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main f ...

in the songs of Denver folk/country artist Jay Munly, appearing in songs such as "Circle Round My Bedside" and "Bonnie Clyde, the Big Bull-Hen of the Women's Prison".

Later years

In 1929, Lindsey was disbarred in Colorado for accepting money for legal services while serving as a judge. On December 7, 1930, he was arrested for disorderly conduct after disrupting public worship at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His interruption came after Bishop William T. Manning denounced Lindsey's stance on marriage in his sermon. In 1934, he ran for, and won election to a judgeship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He also continued his advocacy for children in the juvenile justice system. He died in

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, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, at age 73.

Works

* With Edwin Markham and George Creel, ''Children in Bondage'', (1914) * ''The Rule of Plutocracy in Colorado; The Doughboys' Religion'' (1919) * ''Pan-Germanism in America'' (1919) * With Wainwright Evans, ''The Revolt of Modern Youth'' (1925) * With Wainwright Evans. ''The Companionate Marriage'' (1927) * With Rube Burrough. ''The Dangerous Life'' (1931)

References

Bibliography *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsey, Ben American political writers American male non-fiction writers Colorado state court judges 1869 births 1943 deaths People from Jackson, Tennessee Writers from Colorado American social reformers Union University alumni