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Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission was a group of private citizens organized by philanthropic organizations during the Civil War to expedite and procure supplies and medical care for the Union Army. The Federal government lacked the infrastructure to supply the Army adequately, and private citizens felt it was their responsibility to step in and solve the problem. By war's end, the Sanitary Commission had become quite effective and influential, and it played a central role in establishing programs and policies to help reintegrate disabled veterans back into society. The Commission's work set the tone for the attitudes and ideas that dominated disability policy throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. The following three Reports from the Sanitary Commission, and commentary on them, were edited and written by Peter Dobkin Hall, and are provided by the Documentary History of Philanthropy & Voluntarism Project, Program on Non-Profit Organizations, Yale University. The Reports indicate how seriously the Commission took its role--as a private philanthropic organization--in ensuring the well-being of Union soldiers and-- just as importantly-- American society during and after the war. |
Sanitary Commission Letters and Reports
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