Predecessor | New York Committee for the Prevention of State Regulation of Vice |
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Formation | 1895 |
Founder | Abby Hopper Gibbons |
Founded at | Manhattan, New York |
Legal status | charity |
Purpose |
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Headquarters |
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Origins | New York |
Region served | United States |
Products | Publications |
Services |
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Fields | Social purity movement |
Main organ | The Philanthropist |
Affiliations | International Federation for the Abolition of State Regulation of Vice |
American Purity Alliance was an American social purity organization that worked to prevent attempts at state or city regulation of prostitution. It incorporated under this name in 1895, as the continuation of the New York Committee for the Prevention of State Regulation of Vice, which commenced its work in 1876 and held thirty annual meetings. [1] It was particularly interested in the promotion of sex hygiene, the distribution of purity literature, and the suppression of the white slave traffic. [2]
The nucleus of the American Purity Alliance was formed in the summer of 1876 and was then called the New York Committee for the Prevention of State Regulation of Vice. The Rev. Abby Hopper Gibbons, a daughter of Isaac Hopper, was its president. It was organized in response to an appeal that came to the New York group from the International Federation for the Abolition of State Regulation of Vice, of which an influential English physician, Dr. John Birkbeck Nevins, of Liverpool, was president, Professor James Stuart, M. P., of London, was Honorary Secretary, and the honored Josephine E. Butler of England was the inspired leader. The delegates sent over by the Federation were the Rev. J. P. Gledstone, of London, and Henry J. Wilson, M. P., of Sheffield. The winter previous to their arrival, some New Yorkers had been active in protesting against an attempt, in their Legislature, to introduce the system of legalized prostitution. The New Yorkers were therefore better prepared to welcome the message of warning which the British brought, and which it was their great concern to have widely extended in the U.S. The British delegates had good evidence that it was the purpose of the Regulationists abroad to extend the system internationally, and the issues involved were then little understood in the U.S. [3]
The British delegation left some of their literature for the New Yorkers to circulate, which they did to the best of their ability. But the New Yorkers soon found that they needed to publish for themselves what was specially suitable for local needs, as it required constant watchfulness to thwart the schemes of those who were persistently plotting to obtain the pro-vice legislation. [3]
The New York group worked on from year to year, doing what they could, not anticipating a long service. But the work grew and enlarged. Through their publications, the constituency extended in most of the States of the U.S. Still, it was not in a concentrated form to gain the strength needed from them, until 1895, when the New York group broadened its basis and took the name of The American Purity Alliance, hoping thereby to do more and better work, and to come in closer touch with allies and supporters. [3]
This society was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, in 1895. It was the continuance of an earlier Committee for the Prevention of State Regulation of Vice, which commenced work in 1876. [2]
The chief work of the alliance consisted in organizing methods for the instruction of the young in schools and colleges, for the information of teachers, parents, and physicians in sexual hygiene; the distribution of purity literature, of which a supply of 34 pamphlets was kept on hand at its headquarters; and the publication of The Philanthropist. It was the American branch of the International Federation for the Suppression of State Regulation of Vice. It was actively interested in the suppression of the "White Slave" traffic. Annual dues were US$1. [1]
The headquarters were originally located at 400 West Twenty-third Street, New York City, [1] but later shifted to Baltimore. [2]
In 1908, the president was O. Edward Janney, M.D., Baltimore, Maryland, and the secretary was Percy Russell, Brooklyn, New York. [1]
The organization's primary objects were: the repression of prostitution, the prevention of its regulation by the State, the better protection of the young, the rescue of "fallen women", the extension of the White Cross among men, and to maintain the law of purity as equally binding upon men and women. [1]
The Alliance relied largely on publications for the dissemination of its principles. Its official organ, The Philanthropist, [1] was a monthly periodical devoted to the promotion of purity, the better protection of the young, the repression of vice, and the prevention of its regulation by the state. Published in Baltimore, [2] its price was US$1 per year. The Alliance's leaflet literature covered the various phases of prostitution as a social problem. The leaflets were designed to reach and elevate public sentiment; to gain a regeneration of thought on these matters, and to inspire an affirmative faith in the possibilities of chastity as a basis for the reform needed. [3]
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The Mann Act, previously called the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, is a United States federal law, passed June 25, 1910. It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann of Illinois.
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The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA), formally known as the American Social Hygiene Association and the American Social Health Association, is an American nonprofit organization established in 1914, that cites a mission to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities, with an emphasis on sexual health, as well as a focus on preventing sexually transmitted infections and their harmful consequences. ASHA uses tools such as education, communication, advocacy and policy analysis activities with the intent to heighten public, patient, provider, policymaker and media awareness of STI prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment strategies.
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