Rights and Responsibilities
Before the Orphan Trains existed, children abandoned or without parents had to survive on their own with little help. Orphanages were overcrowded and many were forced out into the streets. In 1853, Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society. He took on the responsibility that parents had neglected and society did not provide for children. He had good intentions to help the children and give them a better life.
The Orphan Trains were the best solution at the time to protect orphaned or abandoned children. Children that got placed in good homes, lived very fulfilling lives. The guidelines that the Children's Aids Society set did not always get carried out. It is unfortunate that some children found homes where they got worked to hard, beaten, and abused. The Orphan Train Movement resulted in children’s rights in America. It forced society to evaluate and take responsibility of at-risk children. Children's rights have evolved over the past two centuries. The Orphan Train Movement was responsible for the beginning of that change from history to now. |
When a child of the streets stands before you in rags, with a tear-stained face, you cannot easily forget him. And yet, you are perplexed what to do. The human soul is difficult to interfere with. You hesitate how far you should go. |