{{short description|American judge and social reformer (1869–1943)}} {{Infobox person | name = Benjamin Barr Lindsey | image = Famous Living Americans - Ben B. Lindsey.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1869|11|25}} | birth_place = [[Jackson, Tennessee]], US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1943|3|26|1869|11|25}} | death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], US | occupation = Judge, social reformer | other_names = | known_for = | education = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = }}
'''Benjamin Barr Lindsey''' (November 25, 1869 – March 26, 1943) was an American judge and social reformer based in [[Denver]] during the [[Progressive Era]]. He is best known for developing a juvenile court system that for youth in trouble.
==Early life== Benjamin Barr Lindsey was born in [[Jackson, Tennessee]], to former [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] captain Landy Tunstall Lindsey. He was educated in the public schools and attended [[Southwest Baptist University]] (now Union University). His father committed [[suicide]] when Ben was 18, leaving him the sole support of his mother and her three younger children. He obtained employment in a [[Real estate|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== [[File:Review_of_reviews_and_world's_work_(1890)_(14784362802).jpg|thumb|Judge Ben B. Lindsey, of Denver, Colorado, with some of his boys.Review of reviews and world's work (1890) (14784362802)]]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]] 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.<ref name=":0" />
While working to gain support for the juvenile court, Lindsey enlisted the assistance of Denver resident, [[Margaret Brown]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 25, 1905 |title=It will Prove a Godsend for the Boys of Judge Lindsey's Juvenile Court |url=https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=BDC19050425-01.2.42 |access-date=October 27, 2025 |work=Boulder Daily Camera |pages=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 4, 1905 |title=Benefit for the Juvenile Boys |url=https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=RMD19050204-01.2.185 |access-date=November 2, 2025 |work=The Rocky Mountain News |pages=14}}</ref>
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]]; state provisions for the support of the dependents of people serving in [[prison]]; extension of the [[probation]] system for prisoners; organization of public baths and playgrounds in Denver; the [[institution]] 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 labour|child labor]]. He carried on an active [[propaganda]] for the general adoption of the juvenile court plan, and for political and social reform, through [[Lecture|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]], 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.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Lindsey Urges Marriage For Companionship |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=3 |date=January 12, 1927}}</ref> [[File:B.B. Lindsey & wife on OSCAR II LCCN2014700499.jpg|thumb|Lindsey and wife in 1915]]Since one of the most common discourses in the popular culture was about women having children, and many [[clergy]] believed that [[sexual intercourse]] within marriage should only be for purposes of [[procreation]], Lindsey's essay aroused strong emotions; a number of [[Priest|priests]] and [[minister (Christianity)|ministers]], as well as civic leaders accused him of promoting [[immorality]], [[promiscuity]] and [[free love]], charges that he denied.<ref>{{cite news |title=Judge Lindsey Denies Advocating Free Love |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=11 |date=January 31, 1927}}</ref> Pope [[Pius XI]] denounced companionate marriage.<ref name="ap19310109">{{Cite news |date=January 9, 1931 |title=Pope Excoriates Birth Control And Companionate Marriage |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-pope-excoriates/198369142/ |access-date=2026-05-27 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |pages=1 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> [[Bertrand Russell]], 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."<ref name=Russell> [https://archive.org/details/marriagemorals00russ_0/page/164/mode/1up?view=theater Russell, Bertrand, ''Marriage and Morals'', Ch. 12, p.164.]</ref> In Denver, he was ousted from the bench, after 28 years of service. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' expressed the view that his views on companionate marriage had destroyed his reputation.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Judiciary: Lindsey Out Monday |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,929306,00.html|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=July 11, 1927}}</ref> Lindsey continued to defend his views on radio and in a series of speaking engagements.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 16, 1930 |title=Judge Lindsey to Speak Tomorrow at P.B.H. |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1930/4/16/judge-lindsey-to-speak-tomorrow-evening/ |work=[[The Harvard Crimson]]}}</ref>
==In popular culture== In 1919, Lindsey wrote the introduction to ''Madeleine: An Autobiography'', the memoirs of former [[prostitute]] [[Madeleine Blair]], an [[Exposé (group)|exposé]] of [[Brothel|brothels]] in the 19th-century American West.<ref> [https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/KFc_AQAAMAAJ''Madeleine: An Autobiography'']. Google Books.</ref>
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]] TV series ''[[Profiles in Courage (TV series)|Profiles in Courage]]'', based upon [[John F. Kennedy]]'s [[Pulitzer Prize]]-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]] 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lindsey Disbarred by Colorado Court |work=The New York Times |date=December 10, 1929}}</ref> 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]]. His interruption came after Bishop [[William T. Manning]] denounced Lindsey's stance on marriage in his sermon.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 8, 1930 |title=Lindsey Arrested, Put Out of Church for Heckling Bishop |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/12/08/archives/lindsey-arrested-put-out-of-church-for-heckling-bishop-you-lied.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=TIME |date=1946-04-08 |title=Religion: Ave Atque Vale |url=https://time.com/archive/6790268/religion-ave-atque-vale/ |access-date=2024-06-16 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> In 1934, he ran for, and won election to a judgeship in the [[Los Angeles County Superior Court]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Ben B. Lindsey Is Nominated |work=The New York Times |date=August 30, 1934}}</ref> He also continued his advocacy for children in the juvenile justice system. He died in [[Los Angeles]], of a [[heart attack]], at age 73.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lindsey, Ben B. (Ben Barr), 1869-1943 |url=http://snaccooperative.org/view/32943734 |website=Social Networks and Archival Context |accessdate=2 June 2018}}</ref>
==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== <references/>
== Further reading == * Campbell, D'Ann. "Judge Ben Lindsey and the Juvenile Court Movement, 1901-1904". ''[[Arizona and the West]]'', 1976, 18#1, pp 5–20 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/40168595 online]
* Clapp, Elizabeth Jane. "The origins and development of juvenile courts in the United States during the Progressive Era, c. 1870-1910" (PhD dissertation, U of London, University College London; 1991 ). [https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10115544/1/10115544_Clapp_thesis.pdf online]
* Huber, Frances Anne. "The Progressive Career of Ben B. Lindsey, 1900-1920" (PhD dissertation, University of Michigan; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 1963. 6308141).
* Kretzmann, Martin Joel. "The kid's judge: Institutional innovation in the early Denver juvenile court under Judge Ben B. Lindsey, 1901-1927" (PhD dissertation, University of Denver; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 1997. 9721924).
* {{cite book |last1=Larsen |first1=Charles Edward |title=The Good Fight: The Life and Times of Ben B. Lindsey |date=1972 |publisher=Quadrangle Books |isbn=9780812902372 |url=https://archive.org/details/goodfight00char |url-access=registration |ref=Larsen}}
* [[Lincoln Steffens]], ''[https://archive.org/details/upbuilders00stefrich Upbuilders]'' (Garden City, New York, 1909)
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{imdb name|512372|as Ben Lindsey}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsey, Ben}} [[Category:American political writers]] [[Category:American male non-fiction writers]] [[Category:Colorado state court judges]] [[Category:1869 births]] [[Category:1943 deaths]] [[Category:People from Jackson, Tennessee]] [[Category:Writers from Colorado]] [[Category:American social reformers]] [[Category:Union University alumni]]