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History: The Changing Face of Adoption

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Book cover Children for Families or Families for Children

Part of the book series: The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis ((PSDE,volume 29))

Abstract

This chapter presents a historical discussion of adoption in the United States. We begin with the precursors to U.S. adoption laws, and then cover the Colonial Era, the Progressive Era, and the Heyday of Adoptions; we end with a presentation of current adoption practices. Many adoption traditions, primarily functioning to care for orphans, are grounded in historical events such as wars and disasters, and ethnic and religious cultures.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The term orphan is not accurate as many children who are adopted have one or both living parents but are placed either voluntarily due to health or financial reasons or involuntarily due to economic or legal pressures.

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  1. Department of Sociology, Sam Houston State University, PO Box 2466, 77341-2446, Huntsville, Texas, USA

    Mary Ann Davis

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Davis, M.A. (2011). History: The Changing Face of Adoption. In: Children for Families or Families for Children. The Springer Series on Demographic Methods and Population Analysis, vol 29. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8972-4_2

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