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

Young boy, Seventeenth Street Mission, Richmond, VA

Union PSem_Young boy_Seventeenth St Mission 026 rsz.jpg

Photograph of young African American boy in winter coat and cap standing outside the Seventeenth Street Mission in Richmond, VA. What appears to be…

Chores of Modern Health Crusaders

U Minnesota_SWHA_Chores of Modern Health Crusaders Nat Rec Assn B3 F PRAA BOD May 1924 rsz.jpg

Poster depicting the eleven Chores of Modern Health Crusaders. These eleven health chores set out the essentials of tuberculosis prevention and…

Popular Fallacies About Race Relations

UPSem_Popular Fallacies About Race Relations058 cover rsz.jpg

A pamphlet addressing resistance from white Americans to racial integration. Written by the Educational Director of the Commission on Interracial…