Dorothy, Anne, and Margaret: Person-Centered Histories of Foster Children in the Mid-Twentieth Century, New York City

Reading against the grain of an adult-centric primary source, I reconstruct the experiences of Dorothy, Anne, and Margaret, three foster children whose stories take place during the mid-twentieth century in New York City. What histories are available of this period center systems, structures, and institutions rather than the lives of individual children. Shifting the focus onto the children themselves, my research aims to answer how foster children asserted their agency and subjecthood in situations where they were made to feel powerless. Central to this inquiry is how foster children acted as agents of their own lives. To connect these narratives to their broader sociohistorical context, I write of certain themes of their experiences and apply interdisciplinary social theory. In such analyses, I expand on issues of identity, labeling, and intersectionality in order to more fully understand the experiences of these children. Each story shines a light on what it was like to be a foster child in the mid-century, uncovering details about the child's personality, struggle, and victories.