From father's property to children's rights: the history of child custody in the United States

1. Fathers/masters: children/servants: child custody in the colonial era

2. From fathers' rights to mothers' love: the transformation of child custody law in the first century of the new republic, 1790-1890

3. The State as superparent: the progressive era, 1890-1920

4. In the best interest of the child? 1960-1990

5. The ascendancy of the social sciences.