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Women and the History of Social Welfare

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Women and the History of Social Welfare
Women and the History of Social Welfare Social welfare, what is it? The term social welfare is an organized public or private social service for the assistance of disadvantaged groups of people. Social welfare has been a part of society since 1792 B.C. by King Hammurabi of Babylon and has continued to expand and help millions of people ever since. Many people have benefited from social welfare, although women but especially colored women have gained so much from the programs enacted by the federal government. The claim that the more progress we make, the worse it is for our society is not something that is evident to be true in terms of the progress and history of social welfare. The history of social welfare was been well documented. The earliest form of social welfare dates back to 1792 B.C.; even in ancient times rulers had a need to help their constituents. There are numerous examples of social welfare, many dating back to B.C. In 1792 B.C. King Hammurabi of Babylon, came up with the code of Hammurabi. The code was the fundamental law regulating the government; it obtained the earliest record trials that had people accused of crimes and the accuser having to come up with evidence. King John of England, in 1215 A.D., in establishing the Magna Carta was another ancient example of social welfare. The Magna Carta led to the rule of constitutional law in the English-speaking world. The document forced upon England’s people was very important to the colonization of early America. The Magna Carta acted as England’s legal system for years; the concept of the document was used as the mold for numerous colonies in America as they developed their own legal systems. Like many social welfare programs and laws, they helped improve people’s daily lives. In the 17th and 18th century, most social welfare projects involved a public welfare system, getting services for veterans and employing the needy. In 1601, the English Parliament enabled the Elizabethan Poor Law,


Cited: Ahmad, Farah, and Sarah Iverson. "The State of Women of Color in the United States." Center of American Progress. N.p., 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. Alexander, Chauncey A. Distinctive Dates in Social Welfare History. Huntington Beach: n.p., n.d. Print. Corbet, Christianne, and Catherine Hill. "Empowering Women Since 1881." AAUW:. N.p., 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2013. Eland, Ivani. "Warfare State To Welfare State." Independent Review 18.2 (2013): 189-218. OmniFile Full Text Select (H.W. Wilson). Web. 27 Oct. 2013. Fang, Hanning, and Michael P. Keane. Assessing the Impact of Welfare Reform on Single Mothers. Yale University, 22 Aug. 1996. Web. 15 Oct. 2013. "Lyndon Johnson 's "Great Society"" Lyndon Johnson 's "Great Society" [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. "People Search." Member Profiles. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. "Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)." Food and Nutrition Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
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