Child, nation, race and empire : child rescue discourse, England, Canada and Australia, 1850-1915

When General Charles Gordon lived at Gravesend in the 1860s, he turned himself into a child rescuer. This book contributes to understandings of both contemporary child welfare practices and the complex dynamics of empire. It analyses the construction and transmission of nineteenth-century British child rescue ideology. The book aims to explain the mentality which allowed the child removal policy to flourish. The disseminated publications by four influential English child rescue organisations: Dr. Barnardo's (DBH), the National Children's Homes (NCH), the Church of England Waifs and Strays Society (WSS) and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), are discussed. The gospel of child rescue was a discursive creation, the impact of which would be felt for generations to come. The body of the child was placed within a familiar environment, rendered threatening by the new social, religious and moral meanings ascribed to it. Ontario's 1888 Children's Protection Act required local authorities to assume maintenance costs of wards and facilitated the use of foster care. Changing trends in publishing have created an opportunity for the survivors of out-of-home care to tell their stories. The book shows how the vulnerable body of the child at risk came to be reconstituted as central to the survival of nation, race and empire. The shocking testimony that official enquiries into the treatment of children in out-of-home 'care' held in Britain, Ireland, Australia and Canada imply that there was no guarantee that the rescued child would be protected from further harm. Child, Nation, Race And Empire Is An Innovative, Inter-disciplinary, Cross Cultural Study That Contributes To Understandings Of Both Contemporary Child Welfare Practices And The Complex Dynamics Of Empire. It Analyses The Construction And Transmission Of Nineteenth-century British Child Rescue Ideology. Locating The Origins Of Contemporary Practice In The Publications Of The Prominent English Child Rescuers, Dr Barnardo, Thomas Bowman Stephenson, Benjamin Waugh, Edward De Montjoie Rudolf And Their Colonial Disciples And Literature Written For Children, It Shows How The Vulnerable Body Of The Child At Risk Came To Be Reconstituted As Central To The Survival Of Nation, Race And Empire. Yet, As The Shocking Testimony Before The Many Official Enquiries Into The Past Treatment Of Children In Out-of-home ‘care’ Held In Britain, Ireland, Australia And Canada Make Clear, There Was No Guarantee That The Rescued Child Would Be Protected From Further Harm. Front matter Contents General editor's introduction List of figures Preface List of abbreviations The child as citizen The gospel of child rescue The body of the child The body of the nation The salvation of the race The salvation of the empire A new orthodoxy in child protection practice Lost, stolen or forgotten: the legacy of the survivors Bibliography Index In the second half of the nineteenth century, prominent English child rescuers, reconstituted the vulnerable body of the child at risk as central to the survival of nation, race and empire. The book explains how the project contributed to the neglect and abuse disclosed in recent enquiries into the past treatment of children in out-of-home ‘care’.