#the article gets into prior cases involving slave owners and things like religious intervention

[ilovedirt]

I think it is important to remember the history of US child abuse protection laws in order to understand where we are at with many things today. For example, the first national child abuse case, that of 9yo Mary Ellen in 1874 -

excerpts from this great article you should read tw American History n everything

img transcription (emphasis mine):

At that time there were laws protecting animals, but no local, state, or federal laws protected children. Consequently, Wheeler turned to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) for help. The case was presented to the court on the theory that the child was a member of the animal kingdom and therefore entitled to the same protection from abuse that the law gave to animals. The court agreed, and the child, because she was considered an animal, was taken from her brutal foster mother.

Mary Ellen Wilson's case led to the founding of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) in 1875. The first child protective agency in the world, the NYSPCC continues in the twenty-first century to work for the best interests of children. Similar societies were soon organized in other U.S. cities. By 1922, fifty-seven societies for the prevention of cruelty to children and 307 other humane societies had been established to tend to the welfare of children. After the federal government began intervening in child welfare, the number of these societies declined.