Documents of American Social Welfare History presents students with essential primary documents, including Supreme Court decisions, federal legislation, administrative policies, and influential creative works, to illustrate the history of social welfare in the United States.

Designed to support an inductive approach to learning, each chapter presents the reader with a socially significant primary document, ranging from colonial American essays to modern day legal decisions. Students are provided with background information, discussion questions, timelines, photographs, links to view each document in full online, and more to encourage critical thinking and consideration of the practical application of each document. They are challenged to think beyond the text, explore additional resources, and evaluate how each document contributes to the "big picture" of social welfare history in the United States.

Chronicling more than 500 years of documentation and information, yet focused and foundational in subject matter, Documents of American Social Welfare History is ideal for courses in social welfare history, social work, and sociology.

Vincent E. Faherty is professor emeritus in the School of Social Work at the University of Southern Maine. He earned his doctoral degree in social work from the University of Utah, a master's degree in business administration from the International Management Institute at the University of Geneva, and a master's degree in social work from Fordham University. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Faherty served as a caseworker, assistant director, and director of clinical services in various community and clinical settings.