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

Anti-Suffrage Arguments. DANGER! [anti-suffrage broadside]

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A single-sided handbill published by the Virginia Association Opposed to Woman's Suffrage. The handbill argues that woman suffrage will lead to…

Why don't you put this boy to work in the factory... [editorial cartoon by Boardman Robinson]

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Editorial cartoon by Boardman Robinson. Originally published in the New York Tribune. Republished here in Cartoons Magazine vol. 3, no. 2 (February…

Popular Fallacies About Race Relations

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