The Orphan Trains

Watch the entire film “The Orphan Trains” before answering the following questions. “The Orphan Trains.” Films Media Group, 1995, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=100829&xtid=44104. Accessed 16 Oct. 2019. Description 1. What was the stated purpose or mission of the “Orphan Trains?” 2. How long did the Orphan Trains run, and what period of American history did they begin and end? (2 points) 3. Who were the children—and how many of them—were ultimately transported out west via this method of adoption? (2 points) 4. Who was Charles Loring Brace and what role did he play in the Orphan Trains? (2 points) 5. Why might these orphan trains be understood as problematic or troubling from a modern point of view today? (2 points) Application: 6. In the film, the narrator says that by the end of the 19th Century, the notion of childhood—and what constitutes the essence of childhood–changed. Based on the article about the history of childhood by Mintz, how might his concepts of the “pre-modern childhood” and the “modern childhood” apply to the start of the Orphan Trains, and then our shock and dismay about them today. (Be sure in your answer to adequately explain what Mintz means by these terms before going on to apply them to Orphan Train children.) (5 points) 7. In his article on child labor, Lancy describes many circumstances across cultures where children’s labor occurs but is often invisible or not fully acknowledged by adult carers. Nevertheless, Lancy points to circumstances—particularly during peak labor demands—that children often step up to do valued work for their families and themselves. How might the children on the Orphan Trains fit into this argument made by Lancy? (5 points)