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9
Chapter II. Adoption in the United States
The Massachusetts Adoption of Children Act was passed in 1851, becoming the first
modern adoption law in the United States. For the first time, people were allowed to
petition a judge to adopt a child who had no blood relationship to the person adopting –
recognizing the process as a legal operation based on child welfare rather than the
interests of the adults involved (Herman).
The process of “matching” was the most prevalent form of adoption selection in
the early years. “What this meant in practice was that physical resemblance, intellectual
similarity, and racial and religious continuity between parents and children were
preferred goals in adoptive families” (Herman). Infertile couples who wanted to adopt
hoped to find children who would pass for their own biological children, without
question. With matching, the assumption was that if a child could be paired using the
utmost care and calculated precision, the adopted child and adoptive parents would be as
close to blood relations as possible. Adopted children were virtually transplanted into
their new homes and the adoptive parents completely replaced biological parents.
The close of the American Civil War and increased immigration led to the
overcrowding of orphanages in the mid-1800s. Methodist minister and founder of the
New York Children’s Aid Society, Charles Loring Brace, believed that the increased
number of children roaming the streets of New York was the most dangerous contributor
to the crime affecting the city. In his opinion, transient adults were a direct result of the
environment in which they were surrounded while growing up. He believed that poor,
disadvantaged parents left children and orphans loose in the streets leaving them no
Object Description
| Title | Babies without borders: exploring perceptions of international adoption |
| Author | Roberts, Nicole Marie |
| Author email | n.roberts@ymail.com; simplynicolemarie@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Strategic Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-03-31 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-05-03 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Floto, Jennifer D. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Lynch, Brenda Thorson, Kjerstin |
| Abstract | International adoption is an incredibly complex and hotly debated issue. In an effort to understand the roots of the system, the author delves deep into the history of adoption and the transition to international adoption in the United States while examining the perceptions of the system today.; Using public relations techniques, the author offers communication-based recommendations that will help mitigate any stigma so that international adoptions continue without the negative undertones that are often associated with the idea of adopting from another country. |
| Keyword | adoption; international adoption |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA; Greece; Korea; Vietnam; Guatemala; Romania; USSR; China |
| Coverage date | 1939/2009 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3877 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Roberts, Nicole Marie |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Roberts-4524 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Roberts-4524.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 21 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 9 Chapter II. Adoption in the United States The Massachusetts Adoption of Children Act was passed in 1851, becoming the first modern adoption law in the United States. For the first time, people were allowed to petition a judge to adopt a child who had no blood relationship to the person adopting – recognizing the process as a legal operation based on child welfare rather than the interests of the adults involved (Herman). The process of “matching” was the most prevalent form of adoption selection in the early years. “What this meant in practice was that physical resemblance, intellectual similarity, and racial and religious continuity between parents and children were preferred goals in adoptive families” (Herman). Infertile couples who wanted to adopt hoped to find children who would pass for their own biological children, without question. With matching, the assumption was that if a child could be paired using the utmost care and calculated precision, the adopted child and adoptive parents would be as close to blood relations as possible. Adopted children were virtually transplanted into their new homes and the adoptive parents completely replaced biological parents. The close of the American Civil War and increased immigration led to the overcrowding of orphanages in the mid-1800s. Methodist minister and founder of the New York Children’s Aid Society, Charles Loring Brace, believed that the increased number of children roaming the streets of New York was the most dangerous contributor to the crime affecting the city. In his opinion, transient adults were a direct result of the environment in which they were surrounded while growing up. He believed that poor, disadvantaged parents left children and orphans loose in the streets leaving them no |
