In a career that spanned two centuries, Homer Folks (1867-1963) advocated on behalf of many of New York's citizens, creating a health care system that was groundbreaking in its scope and addressing many of the social ills of his day.

Among the social transformations wrought by the widespread industrialization of the United States during the nineteenth century was the population explosion within the cities and the acceptance of women and children as wage laborers in the mills and factories dotting the northern states. By 1900 child labor had become one of several social ills of concern to social reformers, who sought ways to address the increasingly widespread poverty, illiteracy, crime, and disease among the working classes. Settlement projects such as Jane Addams' Chicago-based Hull House and aid societies of various sorts quickly sprang up in cities around the nation as concerned individuals attempted to address such problems. In his...