Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children

It was Mary Ellen McCormackwho finally put a human face on child abuse — and prompted a reformers’ crusade to prevent it and to protect its victims, an effort that continues to this day. Tellingly, the case was brought by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In 1874, there were no laws protecting children from physical abuse from their parents. . . . The hard-boiled investigator assigned to Mary Ellen’s case, Etta Angell Wheeler, was shocked and became inspired to do something. Frustrated by the lack of child-protection laws, Wheeler approached the A.S.P.C.A. It proved to be a shrewd move. . . . [The little girl's] heart-wrenching testimony was featured in The New York Times under the subheading “Inhuman Treatment of a Little Waif.”. . . Mary Ellen’s case led [to the foundation of] the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in December 1874. It was believed to be the first child protective agency in the world. . . . Gone are the days when beasts of burden enjoyed more legal protection than children. NYTimes