Antecedents of American Adoption

Abstract

Reference to adoption may be found in the Bible and in the ancient codes, laws, and writings of Babylonians, Chinese, Egyptians, Hebrews and Hindus. It is believed that this practice was usually employed to provide male heirs to childless couples, to maintain family lines and estates, or to fulfill the requirements of specific religious practices such as ancestor worship. It is commonly stated that adoption law in the United States is based upon early Roman laws; however, as Presser points out: “In contrast with current adoption law, which has as its purpose the ‘best interests of the child,’ it appears that ancient adoption law and particularly the Roman example, was clearly designed to benefit the adopter, and any benefits to the adoptee were secondary. Roman adoption law served two broad purposes: to avoid extinction of the family and to perpetuate rites of family worship.“ Hollinger adds that the adoptees were all male and usually adults, not children, and concludes that the relationship between adoption as known by the Romans and adoption as practiced by Americans “is tenuous at best.“

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