Children's Bureau Express

Children's Bureau Centennial Series

On April 9, 1912, President William Howard Taft signed the legislation that created the Children's Bureau, the first Federal agency to focus on the well-being of children. The conditions, personalities, and politics that led to that early legislation reflected an evolving view of children and how the government could and should help children and their families.

As we prepare to celebrate the Children's Bureau's 100 years of service, Children's Bureau Express (CBX) will look back at the political climate and social movements prevalent in the early 20th century that laid the groundwork for the creation of the Children's Bureau. The next eight issues of CBX will feature a series of short articles on the following:

May 2011: The changing view of childhood in the early 20th century
June 2011: The advent of modern social work
July/August 2011: America's orphan trains
September/October 2011: Immigration and children
November 2011: The impact of the Progressive political movement
December 2011/January 2012: The women's movement in the Progressive era
February 2012: Child labor
March 2012: Child welfare around the world in 1912
April 2012: The creation of the Children's Bureau

Each article will briefly examine some of the factors that helped mold public and political opinions about children and government responsibility in the early 1900s. We'll also include a list of further readings.

Join us for this look at our "roots" as we prepare to mark the Children's Bureau's Centennial in 2012!

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