Social Welfare History Project Social Welfare Issues Page 19

George Bush and the Americans with Disabilities Act

The acceptance of the ADA by President George Bush and his administration was far from grudging. It fit a long pattern of Republican support for disability policy that emphasized independence in the labor force over dependence on the welfare rolls.

Wald, Lillian

Lillian D. Wald (1867 – 1940) — Nurse, Social Worker, Women’s Rights Activist and Founder of Henry Street Settlement Introduction: Lillian D. Wald was a nurse, social worker, public health official, teacher, author, editor, publisher, woman’s rights activist, and the founder of American community nursing. Her unselfish devotion to humanity is recognized around the…

The 1970’s as Policy Watershed

In 1974 the expansive social policy system that had prevailed in the postwar era ended, and a more restrictive system that would characterize the rest of the seventies and the early eighties began to take its place.

Cohen, Wilbur J.: Mental Retardation Legislation

On mental retardation legislation, the second major sustained effort of the Kennedy years, Cohen operated as the servant of others. Cohen worked hard on this matter, and that was because Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who was an extraordinarily driven and dedicated woman, wanted him to do so.

Towle, Charlotte: A Perspective

Charlotte Towle came into my work accidentally and peripherally. I saw her from a variety of standpoints she didn’t share: as an historian, as a feminist, as a citizen of the Reagan era–although her experiences with McCarthyism would have given her some preparation for the last.