#295 Saving the City: Women of the Progressive Era

Jul 25, 2019

Explore the powerful impact of women during the Progressive Era, transforming New York City through social reform. Discover Lillian Wald's pivotal Henry Street Settlement and its innovative public health initiatives. Hear about Mother Cabrini's dedication to Italian immigrants and the founding of the Cabrini Shrine. The discussion highlights the White Rose Mission aiding Black women and Margaret Sanger's controversial birth control efforts. Learn how these women fought for community, health, and equity, leaving a lasting legacy.

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INSIGHT

Women Framed Public Work As Maternal Reform

Progressive women carved a public role by arguing their 'mothering' nature could solve urban problems.
This gendered strategy opened civic avenues while avoiding direct demands for universal rights.

ANECDOTE

Henry Street Began In Three Old Houses

Lillian Wald rented three old Henry Street houses in 1895 to found the Nurses' Settlement.
Her Henry Street home became the Henry Street Settlement serving tens of thousands over decades.

INSIGHT

Public Health Nursing Started At Henry Street

Wald created public health nursing: nurses tied to community, not individual doctors.
Visiting nurses met needs in homes where hospitals were unsafe or unaffordable.

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EPISODE 295: This is a podcast about kindness and care. About the Progressive Era pioneers who saved the lives of people in need -- from the Lower East Side to Washington Heights, from Hell's Kitchen to Fort Greene.

Within just a few decades – between the 1880s and the 1920s – so much social change occurred within American life, upending so many cultural norms and advancing so many important social issues, that these years became known as the Progressive Era. And at the forefront of many of these changes were women.

In this show, Greg visits two important New York City social landmarks of this era -- Henry Street Settlement, founded by Lillian Wald in the Lower East Side, and the Cabrini Shrine, where Mother Frances X. Cabrini continued her work with New York's Italian American population.

Then he pays a visit to the Brooklyn Historical Society and their exhibition Taking Care of Brooklyn: Stories of Sickness and Health, featuring artifacts from the borough's surprising connection to medical and social innovation -- from settlement houses to the birth control revolution advocated by Margaret Sanger.

If you have ancestors who came through New York City during 1880s through the 1920s, most likely they came into contact with the efforts of some of the women featured in this show. From the White Rose Mission, providing help for young black women, to the life-saving investigations of 'Dr. Joe' aka Sara Josephine Baker, leading the city's fight for improvements to public health.

Greg is joined by several wonderful guests helping to tell this story, including Tanya Bielski-Braham (currently of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh), Beckett Graham (of the History Chicks podcast), Julie Golia (Vice President for Curatorial Affairs and Collections at the Brooklyn Historical Society), Cherie Sprosty (director of liturgy at the Cabrini Shrine) and Katie Vogel (public historian at the Henry Street Settlement).

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