SIAHGI_161202_037
Existing comment: Annual Report, American Female Guardian Society and Home for the Friendless
1857

For much of the 1800s charity was described as a moral obligation, and women were seen as guardians of morals and virtue. Middle- and upper-class women turned these beliefs into opportunities to establish, promote, and run charities. Philanthropy provided these women, who were not allowed to vote, with alternative means of influencing public life.
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