There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad-free.

Listen with Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.

As a member of NoisorPlus at noisor.com or in Apple Podcasts,

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com.

Right now, one in every 35 children in the United States is adopted.

That means an estimated 100,000 children are adopted every year.

That is an enormous number.

And think of the alternative.

If these children didn't find homes, were not welcomed into new families to care for them, where would they go?

Well, in the early 20th century, adoption was not nearly as popular or prolific.

Instead, children without adequate care, either suffered in poverty, stayed in abusive homes,

survived on the generosity of

relatives, or became wards of the state. Orphanages and work homes were much more common,

think little orphan Annie. But that began to change as the 20th century marched on. First, progressive

reformers advocated for better and safer conditions for children. Next, the Great Depression radically changed the social landscape and then came along a woman

named Georgia Tan. If ever there was a single person most responsible for legitimizing and

popularizing private adoption in America, it's Tan. She definitely maneuvered among the wealthy

and elite, using influence,

persuasion, and media savvy to build up an enterprise that took some of Tennessee's most

vulnerable children and placed them in caring homes with loving parents. But these vulnerable

children, they were taken. Wrenched from their legitimate mothers through deceit, abuse of authority, sometimes

even kidnapping, Georgia Tan made adoption respectable because she was building a market for babies,

...