Jacob M Lonergan
ENG 110
Adoption dates back all the way to 27 BC when Roman Empire was founded. Unlike today, the reason for adoption back than was for political and economic interests for the adopter. It was a legal tool that could strengthen political ties between families, while also providing male heirs. Many of Rome’s rulers became emperor through adoption, infact, it was pretty much a tradition for the emperor to be adopted. However, not all adopted children had strong political ties, many ended up serving politics as slaves. A vast majority of Rome’s slaves were (had been) abandoned or orphaned infants. It was a rare case to see anyone adopt an infant because they wanted a child and even if they did, it would not fall under Roman …show more content…
Unfortunately, many people died to disease or war, leaving orphaned children behind. Most of the time these children would be adopted by a relative of the parents. The number of orphans in the United States rose exponentially during the American Civil War. It was hard to find families to take in kids during this hard time, which lead to orphanages being overcrowded, leaving many kids out in the streets. Charles Loring Brace was a man who was appalled by the homeless waifs roaming the streets of New York. He considered them a threat to the cities order. His solution to this problem was outlined in The Best Method of Disposing of Our Pauper and Vagrant Children (1859) which lead to the ‘Orphan Train’ movement. This ‘Orphan Train movement’ was the largest migration of children in history , more than 200,000-orphaned kids were loaded onto trains and shipped away to the Eastern part of the United States. The kids would either be indentured by families or used as household slaves or laborers, or would be adopted and be raised in the family. The exploitation that followed lead to the rise of new agencies and laws that promoted adoption, rather than indenture. Minnesota drafted an adoption law of 1917 which mandated and investigated that all homes that were involved un adoption to make sure the home was safe for a child. During this same period the ‘Progressive movement’ began with the goal of ending the prevailing orphanage system. In 1909 The first White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children was conducted by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, where he declared that the nuclear family represented “ the highest and finest product of civilization” and was the best candidate to serve as a caretaker for orphaned or abandoned children. This idea gain momentum quickly and by 1923 only two percent of
ENG 110
Adoption dates back all the way to 27 BC when Roman Empire was founded. Unlike today, the reason for adoption back than was for political and economic interests for the adopter. It was a legal tool that could strengthen political ties between families, while also providing male heirs. Many of Rome’s rulers became emperor through adoption, infact, it was pretty much a tradition for the emperor to be adopted. However, not all adopted children had strong political ties, many ended up serving politics as slaves. A vast majority of Rome’s slaves were (had been) abandoned or orphaned infants. It was a rare case to see anyone adopt an infant because they wanted a child and even if they did, it would not fall under Roman …show more content…
Unfortunately, many people died to disease or war, leaving orphaned children behind. Most of the time these children would be adopted by a relative of the parents. The number of orphans in the United States rose exponentially during the American Civil War. It was hard to find families to take in kids during this hard time, which lead to orphanages being overcrowded, leaving many kids out in the streets. Charles Loring Brace was a man who was appalled by the homeless waifs roaming the streets of New York. He considered them a threat to the cities order. His solution to this problem was outlined in The Best Method of Disposing of Our Pauper and Vagrant Children (1859) which lead to the ‘Orphan Train’ movement. This ‘Orphan Train movement’ was the largest migration of children in history , more than 200,000-orphaned kids were loaded onto trains and shipped away to the Eastern part of the United States. The kids would either be indentured by families or used as household slaves or laborers, or would be adopted and be raised in the family. The exploitation that followed lead to the rise of new agencies and laws that promoted adoption, rather than indenture. Minnesota drafted an adoption law of 1917 which mandated and investigated that all homes that were involved un adoption to make sure the home was safe for a child. During this same period the ‘Progressive movement’ began with the goal of ending the prevailing orphanage system. In 1909 The first White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children was conducted by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, where he declared that the nuclear family represented “ the highest and finest product of civilization” and was the best candidate to serve as a caretaker for orphaned or abandoned children. This idea gain momentum quickly and by 1923 only two percent of