Modern adoption has its roots in the United States
From the time the first settlers arrived in the United States, war, poverty, disease, and other tragedies left countless children orphaned. Until the 1850s, informal adoptions were the norm; another family, usually a relative, would take in an orphaned child. As the number of these informal adoptions occurred, the need for legalizing the process became apparent. In 1851, Massachusetts passed the nation’s first adoption statute. It required that judges determine if adoptive parents had consent from the adoptee’s guardian or parent, “sufficient ability to bring up the child” and that it was “fit and proper that such adoption should take effect.”
The number of orphans in the United States exploded amid the Civil War and as immigration increased in the 19th century. Homeless children crowded city streets, particularly in New York. Charles Loring Brace, a protestant minister who founded the Children's Aid Society of New York in 1853, conceived the idea to relocate and find homes for the orphans. Between 1859 and 1929 some 200,000 orphaned children were transported from coastal cities to rural areas in the Midwest. They traveled on what were called “Orphan Trains.” The outcome of this controversial social experiment resulted in mixed reviews. Some say the orphans became indentured servants; others say the children were spared a life on the streets. Nevertheless, the program ushered in America’s foster care system.
In the early 20th century, part of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Movement was aimed at improving child welfare. At the First White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children in 1909, Roosevelt recommended moving away from institutional orphanages and toward placing children in family homes. Consequently, other states followed Massachusetts and passed legislation governing adoption, but the consent provision was loosely implemented. In 1917, Minnesota passed a law mandating that a child welfare agency investigate all placements.
ADD URL Modern adoption has its roots in the United States
From the time the first settlers arrived in the United States, war, poverty, disease, and other tragedies left countless children orphaned. Until the 1850s, informal adoptions were the norm; another family, usually a relative, would take in an orphaned child. As the number of these informal adoptions occurred, the need for legalizing the process became apparent. In 1851, Massachusetts passed the nation’s first adoption statute. It required that judges determine if adoptive parents had consent from the adoptee’s guardian or parent, “sufficient ability to bring up the child” and that it was “fit and proper that such adoption should take effect.”
The number of orphans in the United States exploded amid the Civil War and as immigration increased in the 19th century. Homeless children crowded city streets, particularly in New York. Charles Loring Brace, a protestant minister who founded the Children's Aid Society of New York in 1853, conceived the idea to relocate and find homes for the orphans. Between 1859 and 1929 some 200,000 orphaned children were transported from coastal cities to rural areas in the Midwest. They traveled on what were called “Orphan Trains.” The outcome of this controversial social experiment resulted in mixed reviews. Some say the orphans became indentured servants; others say the children were spared a life on the streets. Nevertheless, the program ushered in America’s foster care system.
In the early 20th century, part of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Movement was aimed at improving child welfare. At the First White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children in 1909, Roosevelt recommended moving away from institutional orphanages and toward placing children in family homes. Consequently, other states followed Massachusetts and passed legislation governing adoption, but the consent provision was loosely implemented. In 1917, Minnesota passed a law mandating that a child welfare agency investigate all placements.
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