The Kindness Of Strangers

In the middle of the 19^th century, a great many American children, ignored by the government, used by the asylum and disposed by the family, were in the disadvantageous conditions, facing a strange society. It was in the 1853, under the help of Charles Loring Brace, New York Children's Aid Society (CAS for short as follows) was founded. With the tenet of"Family-Care", by the means of Orphan Train, CAS treated waifs and orphans in New York City with the kindness of strangers. This thesis paper made the analysis of harmony elements in the culture of the American modern society, by the following aspects: the backgrounds of the birth of CAS, the value of the founder and various opinions to the measure of the child welfare from strangers. The content of the paper is threefold as follows:American children in the 19^th century were in the disadvantageous conditions, which were emphasized in the Chapter One. The strange society that was faced by these children was described by the thorough analysis of the various changes in the fields of the American politics, economy and thoughts. Furthermore, some detailed causes to these children, various attitudes of different groups and some useless actions on the social welfare of the children were given in the first chapter.The care and aid from Brace were paid great attention to in the paper and the Chapter Two. With the development of the Industrial Revolution and the urbanization, the population of the New York City was greatly increased, including the vagrant children and orphans. After the experience of European children's welfare, Brace of deep family education and theological education, drew his attention to the thought of the family government mostly. Before Brace made the decision of founding CAS to help out the disadvantageous group, he saw the countless waifs in the streets with his own eyes and made deep analysis of the horrible consequences. At the beginning, Brace firstly received the concept of Family Care, as the result of his family conception. After the early practice in the urban, Brace realized that the best way of supplying running children a new beginning was to place them out of the New York City and fill them with the care from the western rural family. Until 1929, about 120,000 waifs had been installed in the Middle West and west of America by the means of Orphan Train. Being the preexistence of fosterage, it was praised as one of the biggest children immigration and earliest and most successful aid on children. Meanwhile, it was considered as the rudiment of the family fosterage in contemporary America.After the introduction and analysis in the Chapter one and two, Chapter three emphasized most on the harmonious elements reflected by CAS Brace led. They included taking human right as core, considering the mental need in the developing period of children, acting according to the principle of economy, making greatest use of family education and so forth. Besides, Chapter three had also rejected and analyzed some paralogisms given by some Catholics, governors of the West and certain socialists. Through the analysis above, the care and aid from CAS had proved to be a successful attempt at the most. The existence of shortage in the development of CAS did not come from its own guidance and operating system, but the shortage of suitable macro-control and assistance from the government in the only-market dominant period.Through this thesis paper, we aim to give the readers insights into American society before and after the civil war, and call on people to emphasize the child welfare again. Without the cooperation among government, civilian organization and private, the child welfare in China could not make any progress, and the real harmony of society could not achieved at the same.