Sophonisba Breckinridge

Sophonisba Breckinridge — latest news, discussion & facts — IJR

As a social scientist teaching and conducting research at the University of Chicago, Breckinridge focused on the intersection of social problems, public policy, and social reforms with an emphasis on immigrants, African Americans, child laborers, and working women in American urban centers, among other issues. From the beginning, she took an activist approach and became involved with the Women's Trade Union League (WTUL), serving as a factory inspector.

In 1907 she joined the Hull House project and began in earnest to work with the leaders of the Chicago settlement house movement, Jane Addams, Mary McDowell, and Margaret Dreier Robins on such issues as vocational training, housing, juvenile delinquency, and truancy. Breckinridge also collaborated with Vassar College graduate and social reformer Julia Lathrop and social gospel minister Graham Taylor (theologian), a founder of the settlement house Chicago Commons, to create the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy, becoming its first dean. By 1920, Breckinridge and Lathrop convinced the Board of the School to merge it into the University of Chicago, forming the Graduate School of Social Service Administration. By 1927 the faculty of this new academic unit created the scholarly journal Social Service Review which remains the premier journal in the field of social work. Breckinridge and Edith Abbott were the founding editors, and Breckinridge worked on its publication every year until her death in 1948.

By 1909, Breckinridge had become an assistant professor of social economy, and over ten years later, in 1920, she finally convinced her male colleagues of her research abilities and earned tenure as associate professor at the University of Chicago. From 1923 to 1929, she was also dean in the College of Arts, Literature and Science. She earned full professorship in 1925, and in 1929 she served as the dean of pre-professional social service students and Samuel Deutsch professor of public welfare administration until her retirement from the faculty in 1933.

The Delinquent Child and the Home (1912)

The Delinquent Child and the Home was one of Breckinridge's first books. It was published in 1912 and looked specifically at crime, consequences, and criminal records of children in Chicago. There are eleven chapters that explained the study and expected outcomes of children that lived in different settings in the city.

The first chapter, "Discretion of the Inquiry" talked about children who were charged with crimes during this period, how the family unit had an impact, and how the courts of the time needed to make adjustments in its system when working with juveniles.

"The Child of the Immigrant: The Problem of Adjustment" looked at the impact of children growing up in ethnic enclaves in Chicago in the early 1900s. Breckinridge alluded to examples of young people adjusting to life in the United States and their understanding of what it meant to live in America while living a different kind of life in the home that tied back to their own roots or their parents' cultures.

"The Poor Child: The Problem of Poverty" discussed how poverty often is the reason for juvenile delinquency. Breckinridge said it was usually because they were engaging in activities in order to survive, help their families, or did not have a school to go to that may have helped in lessening delinquent activity.

"The Child Without Play: The Problem of Neighborhood" specifically referred to Chicago's West Side in the early 1900s and explained how dense neighborhoods were often where the most crime occurs among children because of the lack of parks and space for children to roam freely.

In "The Child from the Comfortable Home: The Problem of the Unmanageable", Breckinridge discussed in the final parts of her book about how there could be underlying problems from growing up. Though most of these children were from good homes and lived under authority, sometimes they were sent to boarding schools where they might be better disciplined. Breckinridge talked about how children from different classes were treated by explaining how children from families of higher social status were put in a boarding school while children from families of lower social classes usually faced court or were put in a state-mandated institution.

Women in the Twentieth Century; A Study of Their Political, Social and Economic Activities was published in 1933. Breckinridge's work shows her careful documentation of the social situations and cultural climates that produced various political, social, and economic interest groups. She provided the material in a clear, chronological manner with estimates of attendance to conferences and members, along with mission statements. From the beginning of the text, she demonstrates her observations by reflecting on the environment she lived in through her data collection. Breckinridge references other sociologists like Edith Abbott in her literature. In "Chapter II: The Nineties – An Introduction to the New Century," Breckinridge presents a detailed account of the beginning of women joining clubs. An example listed is the General Federation of Women's Clubs which was founded in 1890. This group had certain requirements that, in turn, restricted membership: "Article IV of the adopted constitution provided that clubs applying for membership in the General Federation must show that no sectarian or political test is required and that while distinctly humanitarian movements may be recognized, their chief purpose is not philanthropic or technical, but social, literary, artistic or scientific culture." The various groups formations begin with groups like The National American Woman Suffrage Association and the Women's Christian Associations but within the decade, there was also the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, National Association of Colored Women, and the National Congress of Mothers All of these eventually evolved to include occupational focuses National Woman's Trade Union League, Quota International, the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. She also focuses on the macro level as seen by "The Industrial Problem as it affects Women and Children." These business changes created legislation similar to current labor laws. For example, "no child under 14 years of age be employed in mill, factory, workshop, store, office, or laundry, and no boy under 16 years in mines" and required schools to provide education to the community. The trend of new groups emerging continued exponentially lead to a societal shift in understanding the social roles. Consequently, Breckinridge points out that the labor market has to change because up until this point, the majority of workers were men and their relationship had different connotations than with married women who wanted to work. Overall, Women in the Twentieth Century demonstrates her progressive and scrutinizing lens through which she views the world.

Additional works

Breckinridge extensively published on family, public welfare, and children:

The Wage-earning Woman and the State: a reply to Miss Minnie Bronson (1910)

Papers presented at the conferences held during the Chicago Child Welfare Exhibit, The Child in the City (New York, Amo Press, 1970 - reprint of the 1912 edition)

Truancy and Non-Attendance in the Chicago Schools: a study of the social aspects of the compulsory education and child labor legislation of Illinois (1917)

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge: a Leader in the New South. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 1921.

Family Welfare Work in the Metropolitan Community: selected case records, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press (The University of Chicago Social Service Series) 1924.

Public Welfare Administration in the United States, select documents (1927)

The Illinois adoption law and its administration (1928)

The Family and the State, select documents (1934)

The Ohio poor law and its administration ... and appendixes with selected decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court (1934)

Public welfare administration, with special reference to the organization of state departments; outline and bibliography; supplementary to Public welfare administration in the United states: select documents (1934)*Social work and the courts; select statutes and judicial decisions (1934)

The development of poor relief legislation in Kansas, by Grace A. Browning... and appendixes with court decisions edited by Sophonisba P. Breckinridge (1935)

The Michigan poor law: its development and administration with special reference to state provision for medical care of the indigent / by Isabel Campbell Bruce and Edith Eickhoff, edited with an introductory note and selected court decisions by Sophonisba P. Breckinridge (1936)

Indiana poor law; its development and administration, with special reference to the provisions of state care for the sick poor (1936)

The Tenements of Chicago, 1908–1935 (New York: Arno Press, 1970; reprint of 1936 edition)

The illegitimate child in Illinois, by Dorothy Frances Puttee ... and Mary Ruth Colby ... edited by Sophonisba P. Breckinridge (1937)

State administration of child welfare in Illinois (1937)

The Illinois poor law and its administration (1939)

The Stepfather in the Family (1940)

Sophonisba Breckinridge

Sophonisba Breckinridge

Article

Related journals

Live room · 1 here

Related journals

Article

Background

Early life and education

Personal life

Great Depression and New Deal

Important works

The Delinquent Child and the Home (1912)

The Modern Household (1912)

New Homes for Old (1921)

Marriage and the Civic Rights of Women: separate domicil and independent citizenship (1931)

Additional works

Activism

Organization involvement

Death

Recognition

About Sophonisba Breckinridge

About Sophonisba Breckinridge

Article

Related journals

Live room · 1 here

Related journals

Article

Background

Early life and education

Social scientist

Personal life

Great Depression and New Deal

Important works

The Delinquent Child and the Home (1912)

The Modern Household (1912)

New Homes for Old (1921)

Marriage and the Civic Rights of Women: separate domicil and independent citizenship (1931)

Women in the Twentieth Century; A Study of Their Political, Social and Economic Activities (1933)

Additional works

Activism

Organization involvement

Death

Recognition