Little Women is one of the most beloved works of American literature. Widely translated and read throughout the world, Alcott's story has inspired films, television programs, cartoons, dolls, and theatrical productions, as well as extensive critical… [more]

Health and sickness, as it pertains to children and youth in Early Modern England, is examined through an array of primary sources that illuminate both the perils of childhood in that age and the measures taken for the care of the ill and the emotional investment of families in caring for them.

Born in present-day Ghana, young Ottobah Cugoano was kidnapped and sold into slavery at the young age of 13. Cugoano worked in the sugar fields of a Grenadan plantation until 1773. That year, Cugoano traveled to England with his owner where he… [more]

This image is of an advertisement for a nearly equal number of adults and children from Sierra Leone at a Charleston Auction. This image is important for several reasons, namely because one should see what an auction advertisement looks like, but… [more]

This excerpt is of a request made by Playden Onely to the members of the Royal African Company in 1721 for 130 children to be taken from West Africa to the West Indies for sale as slaves. The RAC commissioned the slave ship Kent for the task, and… [more]

Below are two tables that reveal both the accomplishments and the limitations of Meiji educational reforms. Table 1 shows an impressive increase in the number of schools and the enrollment rates for both girls and boys, one that culminates in 1905… [more]

Examining children's rights as human rights provides avenues for understanding the complexity of creating and implementing universal declarations of rights and makes international diplomatic history more approachable; the case study offers students the opportunity to research the current status of children from around the world, and connects the history of human rights to the children's rights movement that marked the opening and closing decades of the 20th century. echo [more]

The case study essay outlines a student project using orphanage records from early modern France in a manner that helps students to frame historical questions and make preliminary conclusions about how these silent masses of children lived at the margins of society during the period. echo [more]

Katsu Kokichi (1802–1850), a middle- to lower-ranking samurai without distinction, nevertheless wrote his life story, supposedly to warn his children against his own disgraceful behavior. Yet, he brags of his mischief and rebelliousness, while… [more]

An image of Tokugawa-period (1600–1868) Japan, a detail from an ink painting by Hanabusa Itchô (1562–1724), shows children watching a puppet show and helps illuminate issues of social class and facilitates discussion on how attitudes towards children and their education changed with Japan's modernization. echo [more]