The shadows of truth: The search for morality in the Berachah Industrial Home for the Redemption of Erring Girls, 1915-1926

The purpose of this study is to reveal what life was like for mothers and children inside the Berachah Home, a home for unwed mothers in Arlington, Texas in the early twentieth century. By using private Berachah Home ledgers and The Purity Crusader, a Berachah Home publication, this research connects this local home to larger society through evaluation of Berachah’s connection to societal innovations and movements in the early twentieth century. This thesis argues that while the Home created their own morality goals for the women and children in their care, Berachah consistently catered to the stigma of unwed motherhood, rarely met their moral goals, and often contradicted their own message.