History Of Adoption

The history of adoption goes back to the beginning of time - laws regulating adoption go as far back as the Code of Hammurabi, one of the oldest pieces of deciphered text. Adoption was often practiced by ancient Roman senators and men in power who wanted to ensure they had a male heir. These adoption may have been more symbolic than anything else, with the emperor taking a successor under his wing as if his biological child. In Rome, the father of the family had the ultimate say in which children were placed with what other family. Famous adoptive parents include Julius Ceasar, who took on parental responsibility of his nephew.

The practice of adoption was phased out by the Middle Ages, when being related by blood meant more than emotional and symbolic connections.

Adoption during the Middle Ages contradicted medieval inheritance laws. In France, under the Napoleonic Code, adopters had to be infertile, over the age of 50 and have fostered a child for over six years. This is the time when the Church's role in adoption and caring for abandoned children began to rise. While not all of these children could serve the church, many began to live in institutions, orphanages, become apprentices. Apprenticeship roles evolved into informal adoptive families of the modern times.

At this point in time, immigration to the U.S. and the Civil War meant overcrowding and broken families. The Orphan Train movement moved orphans from the city into the country, where they worked and were raised on farms. Because this meant some children unfairly became servants, states began to mobilize around the idea of making fair adoption laws and ending orphanages. In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt held the first White House conference for the benefit of orphans. And the rest is history.