Endowments; Sexually transmitted diseases--Prevention; Public health; New York (N.Y.); New York Social Hygiene Society; Morrow, Prince A. (Prince Albert), 1846-1913
Format
correspondence
Genre
Business correspondence
Origin Information
1886
Physical Description
microfilm, 16 mm, b&w
digitized microfilm
Note (Reel no.)
Reel 81
Note
PDF may contain multiple grant documents.
These two national societies prosecuted their work with success until it became clear in 1913, that the community of interest between them made advantageous a merger into one greater and stronger society. A joint meeting of the American Vigilance Asso ciation and the American Federation of Sex Hygiene was called at Buffalo, and there a union was effected under the name 'social hygiene,' first used by a Chicago society. Thus in 1914 'The American Social Hygiene Association' came into existence under the membership corporations law of New York State, taking over the fields of work, the problems and the obligations of both the parent organizations. Later the national association merged with the New York Social Hygiene Society, which was one of the oldest bodies in the field of social hygiene, having been founded (1905) by Dr. Prince A. Morrow under the name of the Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis. Historically the consolidation of the two wings of the attack on the multitude of social hygiene problems must be considered a great strategic value, making for unity of action and breadth of scope." [SOURCE: American Social Health Association. "A HISTORY AND A FORECAST." American Social Health Association Records, 1905-2005. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Social Welfare History Archives, https://www.lib.umn.edu/swha. Republished by Virginia Commonwealth University Social Welfare History Project, https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/health-nutrition/american-social-hygiene-association-history-and-a-forecast. Accessed 8 Oct. 2018.] "The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) is an American non-profit organization established in 1914, that cites a mission to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities, with an emphasis on sexual health, as well as a focus on preventing sexually transmitted infections and their harmful consequences. ASHA uses tools such as education, communication, advocacy and policy analysis activities with the intent to heighten public, patient, provider, policymaker and media awareness of STI prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment strategies. ASHA was born out of the early 20th century social hygiene movement. At the beginning of the twentieth century venereal disease (VD), or what we now call sexually transmitted diseases or infections (STDs/STIs), was a prevalent concern for social health organizations. Sexuality was not an acceptable topic for polite conversation in Victorian society, and VD largely remained behind a veil of shame. At the same time, however, reports of rising incidence rates for syphilis and gonorrhea gave cause for serious concern. For example, by one perhaps inflated but widely accepted estimate in 1901, as many as 80 percent of all men in New York City had a gonorrhea infection at one time or another. Early efforts to eradicate 'social diseases' focused on prostitution on one hand, as both a threat to the family as a source of infection, and the threat to public health on the other, with the focus on addressing the problem through both medical and educational means. In 1913, at a conference in Buffalo, New York, several organizations dedicated to fighting prostitution and venereal disease joined together to form the American Social Hygiene Association (ASHA). The association was established to stop the venereal disease epidemic through public education on STIs and working to break down the social stigma attached to VD. In 1914, ASHA established its national headquarters in New York City. Founders and supporters included Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University; Jane Addams of Chicago's Hull House; Edward Keyes, Jr., M.D.; Dr. Thomas N. Hepburn, leader of the Connecticut social hygiene movement; Grace Dodge, philanthropist; John D. Rockefeller, Jr., initial financial contributor; and Dr. William Freeman Snow, Stanford University professor and secretary of the California State Board of Health." [SOURCE: "American Sexual Health Association." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Sexual_Health_Association. Accessed 8 Oct. 2018.]
Language
English
Library Location
Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University