The Setting

Until a very short time ago, no laws effectively protected children from maltreatment much less accorded them any rights. Violence was commonplace and except for a few extreme instances, child abuse was tolerated. One hundred and thirty-two years ago, these omissions began to be corrected. On April 27, 1875, The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was incorporated. Organized child protection was born.

The movement was a pragmatic blend of religious faith, humane concern, private initiative and public partnership transcending political, sectarian and economic differences.

Child protection didn't begin in a vacuum. It was part of a wave of reform, a spontaneous reaction to a sequence of events unprecedented in the magnitude of their impact. Between 1820 and 1870, as the nation experienced the industrial revolution, the Civil War and the onset of a massive tide of immigration, the population of New York City increased seven-fold, to over a million people, half of whom were foreign born. Public and private service systems were overwhelmed, riots were frequent, crime was rampant and the child cruelty and exploitation they engendered was as common as the sixteen-hour work day.