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First ever legal adoption made in Massachusetts by governor Sir William Phips who adopted his son.
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In Natchez, Mississippi, the first ever U.S. orphanage opens (1729) and is run by Ursuline nuns.
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Massachusetts passes the first modern adoption law which recognized adoption as a social and legal process based on a child’s welfare rather than on adult interest.
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Charles Loring Brace makes the “Orphan Train” movement national.
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Michigan becomes the first state to pass a law requiring the investigation of adoptive parents.
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The first laws requiring the sealing of adoption records are passed in Minnesota.
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After 75 years, the “Orphan Train” movement ends.
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In the 1930s, states began to pass laws to seal the birth certificates of adopted children. Protecting the adoptive family so that the birth mothers wouldn’t come back and make demands on them.
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Edna Gladney successfully lobbies to have references to “illegitimacy” removed from birth certificates in Texas.
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Pharmaceutical company G.D. Searle is the first to be approved to sell the first birth control pill, dramatically effecting the number of babies available for adoption.
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The Immigration and Nationality Act incorporates provisions for orphans adopted from foreign countries by American citizens.
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New York becomes the first state to provide an assistance program for children waiting to be adopted.
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The Adoptees Liberty Movement Association is founded to help adoptees and birth parents find each other.
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The National Association of Black Social Workers issues a public resolution opposing transracial adoption.
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Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion.
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Social workers Annette Baran and Reuben Pannor advocate for “open adoption,” where birth parents and adoptive parents meet each other.
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The Indian Child Welfare Act is passed, stating that a child’s nation or the Bureau of Indian Affairs must be notified before a Native American child is placed for adoption.
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The National Council for Adoption is formed, promoting high standards in adoption procedures and provide information on adoption.
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Rev. George M. Clements in Chicago founds the “One Church, One Child” movement to recruit black adoptive parents for black children through churches.
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The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption is passed. It sets uniform standards for the protection of adopted children.
