Why are 18 Year Olds Considered Adults?

Published: 19 September 2017
on channel: PBS Origins
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Title: Why is 18 Considered an Adult?

Why do we consider an 18 year old an adult?

While you might not personally consider your average 18 year old a full-fledged adult, 18 is a pretty magic number in the US. It’s the the age when you can vote, go to war, work full time, and move out of their parents house. Why is this the case? Well while you might think there’s some sort of biological or traditional explanation, that’s not the case. The age of “adult” in America has always been in flux.

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Written and Hosted By: Danielle Bainbridge
Graphics By: Noelle Smith
Directed By: Andrew Kornhaber
Produced By: Kornhaber Brown (www.kornhaberbrown.com)


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Sex and Harm in the Age of Consent (Yale Orbis)

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Racial Innocence

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https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_age
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