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

Peace [editorial cartoon by Nelson Harding]

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Editorial cartoon by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Nelson Harding. Peace, shown as an angel with a tiarra, slams her fist on a table, scattering…

Voting Status of Negroes in Virginia and Procedures and Requirements for Voting in Virginia

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This 1944 booklet is the Virginia Voters League’s fifth annual report. The League began in 1941 and worked with the NAACP in advocating for increased…

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…