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.
Continue Reading »Search Results for: settlement movement
Gilman, Daniel Coit
Daniel Coit Gilman is most known for his contributions to American higher education. This paper presents information which shows that he developed practice principles that are still valid, opened Johns Hopkins University to a wide range of social welfare education and activities, and educated several of the most important founders of professional social work.
Continue Reading »The Power of Group Work with Kids
Social group work’s origins are rooted by melding three early twentieth century social movements: the settlement house movement, progressive education movement and recreation movement (Breton, 1990). What all three have in common is the conviction that people have much to offer to improve the quality of their lives.
Continue Reading »Widows’ Pensions
Widows’ Pensions by Dr. June Hopkins, Armstrong Atlantic State University Note: This article is an excerpt from Dr. Hopkins’ book, Harry Hopkins: Sudden Hero, Brash Reformer. “There is always the danger that in our dread of making people dependent we shall cease to do good for fear of doing harm.” Harry Hopkins, 1914 The Origins…
Continue Reading »Early History of Group Work
Group work began to be accepted as a dimension of social work in America when it was given “Section” status by the organizers of the National Conference of Social Work (NCSW) in 1934….There existed considerable debate about what group work was – and where it belonged in the social work profession. Although group work methodology was developed primarily within recreation and informal education agencies it was increasingly being used in social work-oriented agencies, for example, within settings such as children’s institutions, hospitals, and churches. Influential social workers, such as Gertrude Wilson argued that group work was a core method of social work and not a field, movement, or agency.
Continue Reading »Child Welfare
Child Welfare: A Brief History by Linda Gordon, Ph.D., New York University, New York, NY Children have been central to the development of welfare programs in the United States. Indeed, sympathy for poor and neglected children was crucial in breaking through the strong free-market individualism that has been mobilized repeatedly to condemn public aid to…
Continue Reading »Founders
Founding Scholars Advisory Committee These distinguished scholars worked with John E. Hansan to shape the original Social Welfare History Project that launched in 2010. Their expertise as researchers and educators helped create the conceptual framework for the site, along with the scholarly articles they contributed. Allida Black, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at…
Continue Reading »Balch, Emily Greene
Emily Greene Balch (1867-1961): Social Worker, Reformer, Peace Activist and Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, 1946 By Catherine A. Paul Emily Greene Balch was an American economist, sociologist, and pacifist. She was born January 8, 1867 in Boston, Massachusetts to a prominent family, and she attended Bryn Mawr College from 1886 until 1889, where she…
Continue Reading »Anderson, Mary
Mary Anderson (1872-1964): Advocate for Working Women, Labor Organizer and First Director of the Women’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor.
Continue Reading »Social Welfare Developments, 1901-1950
Editor’s Note: All items are in chronological order in the year under which they are listed. 1902 The first State workmen’s compensation law is enacted in Maryland; it was declared unconstitutional in 1904. Homer Folks, founder and head of the New York State Charities Aid Association publishes Care of Destitute, Neglected and Delinquent Children. Conversion…
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