In this thought-provoking work, Sarah Knowles Bolton examines some of the key social challenges facing America in the late nineteenth century. Drawing on her own experiences and extensive research, Bolton offers a penetrating analysis of the issues of poverty, education, and social inequality. Her insightful and empathetic work remains as relevant today as it was over a century ago. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.