ABSTRACT
This article examines the roles of Jane Addams and Mary Richmond in the paradigm shift that occurred in social work at the turn of the century. They were the two most influential women in the history of the profession. With barriers to female participation in nineteenthcentury American public life, the achievements of these two women were formidable. Addams was one of the chief architects of the Settlement House Movement, and Richmond became the presiding matriarch of the Charity Organization Society philosophy. These were the two movements that interactively shaped the social purposes of the social work profession. This paper explores the major shift in the profession’s paradigm from one of moral certainty to one of rational inquiry and delineates the contribution of these women to that paradigm shift.
