Endless Crusade Women Social Scientists and Progressive Reform [Paperback]

This book examines the lives and careers of four American women--Sophonisba Breckinridge, Edith Abbott, Katharine Bement Davis, and Frances Kellor--who played decisive roles in early twentieth-century reform crusades. Breckinridge and Abbott used their educations in political science and political economy to expose the tragic conditions endured by the urban poor. Davis became the first superintendent of the New York State Reformatory at Bedford Hills and was a leading figure in prison reform. Kellor's sociological training gained her admittance to the smoke-filled rooms of national party politics and eventually to a high-ranking position in the Progressive Party. InEndless Crusade, Fitzpatrick follows these four women from their collective experience as University of Chicago graduate students at the turn of the century to their extraordinary careers as early-twentieth-century social activists, exploring the impact of their academic training and their experiences as professional women on issues ranging from prison reform to Progressive Party politics. Fitzpatrick examines how each woman struggled, in various settings, to promote effective social reform. Their shared commitment to social knowledge and social change, she shows, helped to shape the character of early-twentieth-century reform.

A gift to historians, to social scientists, and to anyone hungering for women's biography in wonderful prose. --Signs

First rate--Endless Crusadejoins a small but significant group of titles in the history of American feminism....It reveals the feminist origins of the twentieth-century welfare state. It is a most welcome contribution. --Donald K. Pickens,University of North Texas

An excellent study of the impact of the new social science and graduate training on social investigation and reform politics in the early twentieth century....Delightful to read and carries a strong thesis. --Journal of Interdiscil3å