The poor law legislations and related development provide the background for the development of American system of relief.
Some of the significant milestones in the development of social work and welfare in what would become the United States of America are highlighted in Barker's (1999) Milestones.
✓ 1624: Virginia Colony institutes laws providing for the needs of disabled soldiers and sailors.
✓ 1642: Plymouth Colony, based on the Elizabethan Poor Law, enacts the first such legislation in the "New World".
✓ 1650: The "Protestant Work Ethic," which places an emphasis on discipline, economical living, and hard effort, rises to prominence and allows those who adopt it to look down on those who are unemployed or dependent on others.
✓1692: Massachusetts introduces indentured servitude, providing that homeless children could be placed with other families who could require them to work for a period of time to pay for their care.
✓1776: The U.S. Declaration of Independence is signed, promoting freedom for everyone but the slaves.
✓1787: The U.S. Constitution is adopted to "promote the general welfare", moving social welfare into American political discourse.
✓1813: Child labor laws are passed in Connecticut, requiring that factory owners teach reading, writing, and arithmetic to children working for them.
Three Social Movements
✓The charity Organization Movement (1877)
✓The settlement House Movement (1886)
✓ The Child Welfare Movement (1853 & 1875)
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