Social Welfare Movement Essay

While humans have for generations acknowledged the importance of children in the society, the government involvement in child affairs has been varied over the decades. In the US, the government did not play a major role in the promotion of the welfare of children and youth in the country by the end of the 19th century. This trend changed in the early years of the 20th century when the federal government started to demonstrate a major interest in child welfare. This took place in the progressive era which saw the immergence and active engagement of the child-savers movement. Owing to the efforts of such organizations, several policies and legislations were worked on by the US government from the start of the 20th century to promote child welfare in the society (McGowan, 2005). The marked shift by the government in social welfare was caused by some important economic and social issues that were taking place in the progressive era.

Economic activities in the nineteenth century led to significant changes in United States society. During this time, the US experienced economic growth which was fueled by industrialization. This industrialization, which began in the eighteenth century,

This paper set out to discuss the historical, economic and social context within which this movement occurred and the impacts it had on the country. The movement was born out of the need to address the child exploitation and juvenile delinquency issues caused by mass migration into the US. It resulted in the government coming up with policies to address child welfare issues from the early 19th century. Child saving movement was able to promote the institutionalization of children mostly from low-income and immigrant populations. This institutionalization promoted the assimilation of children to fit into the mainstream Middle American