Explore the history of American social reform and social services 

The Social Welfare History Image Portal brings together photographs, pamphlets, artifacts and documents chronicling the history of the nation's response to human need. This history includes the work of volunteer organizations, reform movements, social workers, and government legislation and systems.

Featured Items

Story of the Boston Nursery for Blind Babies

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This pamphlet provides a brief history of the Boston Nursery for Blind Babies. The pamphlet is accompanied with photographs displaying the nursery…

What the Employers of America Can Do for the Disabled Soldiers & Sailors

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Issued by the Federal Board for Vocational Education, Washington, D.C.; Series: Monograph ; no. 3.; Vocational Rehabilitation Series ; no. 3"The great…

We Fight For Democracy, 1918 [Uncle Sam, Columbia, and Democracy]

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Studio portrait of costumed figures before a sign saying "We Fight For Democracy." This photograph was taken during World War I.  Ralph Harvie Wormley…