Theodore Dreiser, the "Delineator" Magazine, and Dependent Children: A Background Note on the Calling of the 1909 White House Conference

Abstract

On Christmas Day, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt sent a letter to approximately one hundred persons in United States, calling them to meet at White House on January 25 and 26, 1909, to confer on the care of children who are destitute and neglected but not delinquent. Thus, as if he were capitalizing on sentiment of day, President Roosevelt put into effect an idea that has since exerted tremendous influence on development of child welfare programs in United States. Today, White House Conference is one of America's well-known institutions, It serves as a focal point for exchange and advancement of thinking among lay and professional people from all parts of country regarding welfare of children and youth. Its range of influence is worldwide. How did this significant development in social welfare field occur? What prompted President Roosevelt to issue call for 1909 White House Conference on Care of Dependent Children? This event was no historical accident. It was rather a product of times. The early 1900's may be called an age of reform,2 a period when federal re1 The research for this paper was done in 195556, when writer was on sabbatical leave studying in doctoral program at School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. sponsibility for welfare emerged in United States. Theodore Roosevelt, in his own way, aided this development. But in field of child welfare it was not Theodore Roosevelt who led; he only facilitated. The lead was taken by a myriad of men and women from vantage points all over nation. Among them was Theodore Dreiser, a man whose contribution to child welfare in America has heretofore gone unnoticed. His work on behalf of dependent children while editor of Delineator magazine from 1907 to 1909 entitles him to be regarded, belatedly, as a person who in his time made a significant contribution to field. Certainly, with regard to forces that played upon scene at time of calling of 1909 White House Conference, Dreiser's activities during this period should be noted. This paper is about Dreiser's role in process leading up to calling of that conference. It also tells, in a way, part of story of contribution of American journalism to advancement of social welfare causes in United States.