Julius Rosenwald (1862 – 1932): Influential Philanthropist and Humanitarian Julius Rosenwald was born on August 12, 1862, to Samuel and Augusta Rosenwald, both Jewish immigrants, in Springfield, Illinois. Rosenwald was educated in the public schools in Springfield, and in 1879 he began his business career with Hammerslough Brothers, wholesale clothiers in New York City. In…
Continue Reading »This report was written by a “resident” of the Chicago Settlement in 1925 or 1926, thirty years after the founding of the organization. It includes observations of Mary McDowell, the original Head Worker, and compares her work and vision with the then current programs. The author also gives his and perspective of the other residents, paid staff, and volunteers who lived and worked in the agency.
Continue Reading »Laura J. Praglin, Ph.D., LMSW is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Northern Iowa. Her research and teaching interests include the history of social work, especially the interaction of the early social work profession with other civicand religious organizations.
Continue Reading »Jessie Donaldson Hodder (1867-1931) was a pioneering reformer in the areas of child welfare, medical social service, and criminal justice. She is best known for her innovative contributions to the welfare of incarcerated girls and women as superintendent of the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women (1911-1931). Written by Laura J. Praglin, Ph.D., LMSW.
Continue Reading »The purposes of this home were to reform “fallen women” and preach salvation and hope to and provide shelter for unmarried, pregnant women and girls. With the success of the Bleeker Street mission, Crittenton became a traveling evangelist, preaching in particular to prostitutes and the unwed mothers. As a result of his efforts, “Crittenton Homes” that provided rescue services and shelter to unwed mothers in an atmosphere permeated by Christian evangelism were established throughout the United States beginning in 1892.
Continue Reading »A dynamic speaker and tenacious organizer, Carrie Chapman Catt was a powerful force in the woman suffrage movement. Her relentless campaigning won President Woodrow Wilson’s respect and support, and ultimately led to passage of the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote.
Continue Reading »Women are thinking and that is the first step toward an increased and more intelligent use of the ballot. Then they will demand of their political parties clear statements of principles and they will scrutinize their party’s candidates, watch their records, listen to their promises and expect them to live up to them and to have their party’s backing, and occasionally when the need arises, women will reject their party and its candidates. This will not be disloyalty but will show that as members of a party they are loyal first to the fine things for which the party stands and when it rejects those things or forgets the legitimate objects for which political parties exist, then as a party it cannot command the honest loyalty of its members.
Continue Reading »Article by Louis Adamic, The Nation, 1934. “In brief, the A. F. of L. union skates are utilizing, exploiting the workers’ hate for company unions, stirring and intensifying it, focusing their thoughts and feelings on the company-union evil, exaggerating the power of company unionism, in order to keep them blind to the faults and shortcomings of the A. F. of L. organizations.”
Continue Reading »Christopher J. Anderson is Head of Public Service and Reference Librarian at Princeton Theological Seminary. Previously, he served as Special Collections Librarian and Curator of the Day Missions Collection at Yale University. From 2007 to 2017 he was Associate Dean of Libraries and Head of Special Collections, Archives, and Methodist Librarian at the Drew University…
Continue Reading »By Catherine A. Paul, 2017. The Flint Sit-Down Strike is known as the most important strike in American history because it changed the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a collection of isolated individuals into a major union, ultimately leading to the unionization of the United States automobile industry.
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