Moral campers

It begins in February. Parents scour websites in the often-competitive sport of hunting for summer camp options. The goal is to keep our children happy, occupied and perhaps even learning something during the long summer. 

Summer camps are a relatively new invention, introduced in the early 20th century. At first they focused on white lower- and middle-class boys; as camps exploded in number and type, they eventually included girls and other racial and ethnic groups. Early camps focused on shaping the moral and physical character of boys in danger from the urban milieu. Their concerns included

• A growing anxiety over the health and physicality of white bodies—especially in Protestant middle-class circles, as waves of immigrants poured into American cities.