At the turn of the 19th century, the United States experienced a flood of economic and social change. Among these changes was an increased emphasis on the physical, scholarly, and moral development of children. Within the contents of this website, one can formulate an educated concept of what social elements in the early 20th century designated children as such. More specifically, this collection of data and analysis exhibits the objects, achievements, and knowledge acquired by children that acted as a transition from childhood to adulthood. Within the idealized (white, middle-class) American family, such rites of passage were achieved throughout childhood and in various aspects of life; they could be markers of physical growth, brand new toy sets, or achievements in athletic or scholarly endeavors. However, these data also demonstrate significant variation in what defines a rite of passage among those of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

As is consistent within virtually every facet of American life, children’s rites of passage varied considerably between different races. As detailed in writings by Wilkerson (2010) and Rothenberg & Wright (2007), for Black children, a rite of passage was accepting the unfairness of their society. Black children often followed unwritten rules when presenting themselves in public, carefully avoiding unfair treatment or racist abuse (Simmons, 2015). Moreover, there exist unique rites of passage at the intersection of race and place. As expressed in testimony by K. Tsianina Lomawaima and shown in our timeline, Native American children often experienced the violent rite of passage of being displaced from their home reservations. These children were taken from their families and forced into a “white American” way of life at boarding schools, and in society’s view, this was a way to convert native children into productive, “American” adults.

Even among the demographic of wealthy white families, there was diversity within the conceptions of rites of passage, in this case divided by gender. While boys received new science experiment kits or a bow and arrow as a marker of maturity, girls got dolls. This disparity is suggestive of a larger societal ideal that boys should innovate, provide and protect, while girls should love and nurture.

Though it may be difficult to identify, it would be interesting to research further the relationship between rites of passage and place. We imagine that across the country, children in a given location all shared in a unique rite of passage. It would be intriguing to look into the way specific places create a rite of passage, as well as the greater significance they give it in the community. In summary, the data and analyses presented on this site show in detail the variation in children’s rites of passage in the late 19th and 20th century, as well as the greater societal values they represented.