| Preface | iii |
| Introduction | [xi] |
| I. | The Eternal Boy | [1] |
| | The nature of the problem, and the persons to whom this work is addressed. |
| II. | The General Nature of the Gang | [8] |
| | Importance of gangs—Their neglect in the literature of boyhood—The single conspicuous exception—The author’s own experience with boys’ gangs and its lessons—Boys’ own stories of six specimen gangs—Fundamental likeness of all gangs—Their instinctive basis. |
| III. | The Organization of the Gang | [26] |
| | Age of members—Their habitat, nationality, and social class—Permanence of and definiteness of organization of gangs—Their names—Times and places of meeting—Officers—Initiation ceremonies—Rules—Resignations and expulsions—Method of settling disputes—Emergence of the group mind. |
| IV. | Certain Activities of the Gang | [39] |
| | Analysis of gang activities—Survivals from pre-gang stage—Group games—Tribal industries—Boys’ reports of these—Their significance—“Plaguing people”—Boys’ reports—Instinctive nature of the impulse—Stealing—Reports. |
| V. | Further Activities of the Gang | [50] |
| | Migration—Reports—Truancy—Reports—Theatre-going—Reports—Fighting—Personal fights—Fights between groups inside the gang—Fights between gangs—A case of war between federations of gangs. |
| VI. | The Anthropology and Psychology of the Gang | [72] |
| | Certain human instincts—Differing instincts of boys and girls—Many instincts of boyhood are survivals from savagery—The Recapitulation Theory, therefore, the key to boy psychology—Not, however, a complete explanation—Certain qualities of the young look toward the future—Illustrations of these—Ancestral qualities persist when useful—Examples from instincts of both boys and girls. |
| VII. | The Control of the more Primitive Impulses | [83] |
| | Certain maladjustments of human instincts to civilized life—These especially noteworthy in boyhood—Instinctive basis of cruelty in boys—Other causes of cruelty—Psychology of “plaguing people”—Pedagogic worthlessness of the impulse—Its cure—Impulse to plague girls of a different nature—Apparently protective—The love of fighting—Its instinctive nature—Fighting is, on the whole, a virtue—Its pedagogic value—Practical treatment of the problem—Two working rules—Self-limiting nature of the evil. |
| VIII. | The Management of the Predatory Impulses | [94] |
| | Transitory nature of instincts—Acquisitiveness the basis of boys’ thieving—Self-limiting quality of stealing—Effect of collections—Of common property—Cure of thievery must regard origin—Practical hints—Effect of gardens and shops—Unconscious element in anti-social impulses—Unfortunate position of city boy—Analysis of reasons for theft—Removal of specific causes—Summary of two chapters on anti-social gang activities and their cure. |
| IX. | The Tribal Instincts and the Wanderlust | [109] |
| | Inherent goodness of the gang impulses now to be discussed—Balance of home and gang life—General nature of the problem—Wholesomeness and spontaneity of these interests—Their usefulness in training for work—Their religious aspect—Uses of Sunday—Control of the Wanderlust—Its imperiousness—Its dangers—Its good side—Practical suggestions—Excursions to interesting places and historic spots—Camping trips—Truancy—Limitations of athletics—Advantage of non-competitive sports over games—Their value as permanent sources of happiness. |
| X. | The Individualistic Activities and the Group Games | [124] |
| | Education through games—Their social training—The problem of playgrounds—Example of the best English schools—Value of swimming—Opportunity and supervision—Skating and dancing—Their peculiar function at the end of the gang period—Theatre, circus, and picture show—Analysis of their influence—Wholesomeness of melodrama. |
| XI. | The Special Virtues of the Gang | [141] |
| | Psychologic value of the gang period—Biologic aspect of moral education—Loyalty the foundation of the gang—The boy’s devotion to ideals—Mistakes of parents and teachers—Why all boys are not in gangs—Gangs are the natural training-schools for the social virtues—Pedagogic value of even anti-social acts—High social value of nearly all gang activities—This illustrated by typical rules of gangs—Gangs inculcate coöperation, courage, and other manly virtues—Late reversal of opinion with regard to the influence of gangs. |
| XII. | The Gang in Constructive Social Work | [157] |
| | The Boy Scouts—The sound psychology of the organization and its relation to the boys’ gang—The Church—The psychology of religious training and its practical method—The Sunday School—The Home—Prerequisites of good gangs—Families should unite to provide these—The Boys’ Club—The Playground—The Summer Camp—its common failings—Suggestions for the improvement of these—Proper subjects for study in camp—Special fitness of instruction in hygiene and morals. |
| XIII. | The Gang and the School | [177] |
| | The nature of the problem—Necessity of comprehending the gang spirit—Illustration from fighting and by an incident of real life—Difference between boys and girls—Boys’ motor-mindedness—Practical hints—Importance of using natural groups—Illustrated by gymnastics—By nature study—By work in practical arithmetic—By other coöperative efforts—By pupil self-government—The important matter is to utilize the great passions of boyhood. |