Julia Hamilton Impact On Social Work

Dr. Alice Hamilton received a medical degree in 1893 she was the first female professor at Harvard Medical School. Hamilton was a resident volunteer at the Hull House 1897-1919.While there Hamilton volunteered her time at Hull House as teacher and directed men’s athletic clubs. Dr. Hamilton also operated a well-baby clinic and visited the sick. As a resident of Hull House she noticed the negative effects that the dangerous trades had on many workers health. She became very interested in the problems the workers faced this caused her to do research in these areas. Hamilton led many investigations into occupational diseases and their effects on the workers. Her investigations brought about reform in the working conditions of many workers in the area, and was influential in enacting the Workers Compensation Laws. (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2003)

Julia Lathrop

She ran discussion groups and actively campaigned to pass legislation to protect children. She often visited families to document their needs. By 1912 President Taft appointed Lathrop as First Bureau chief of the newly created children’s bureau which researched children’s labor, infant mortality, maternal mortality and juvenile delinquency. Lathrop worked in the field investigating and inspecting almshouses, farms, and institutions in Cook County. Her findings led her to advocate for the changes in the treatment of the mentally ill and she subsequently became a charter member of Clifford W. Beer’s National Committee for Mental Hygiene. (The Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica,