| Description | This section contains public addresses written and delivered by Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury to various public philanthropic, religious, social, literary and political groups between the early 1890s and 1949. The variety of topics explored in these addresses, including housing reform, education and international relations, reflects the scope of Taylor Cadbury's public work promoting social welfare reform.
Taylor Cadbury's public addresses consider participation in philanthropic and local government work, religious life and the spiritual motivation underlying social service, as well as social and political issues surrounding the outbreak and resolution of war during the first half of the twentieth century. She also examines the importance of increased unity between religious denominations and promotes work to support improved relationships between different countries such as Britain and India. A number of Taylor Cadbury's addresses relate to her educational work and her views on the development and purpose of education for children and adults, such as the importance of continuation schools. Other addresses reflect her involvement in public work supporting the development of hospitals and health services, particularly her experiences overseeing school medical treatment services in Birmingham and her work with the city's hospitals. In addition, the addresses here provide an insight into Taylor Cadbury's involvement with the National and International Councils of Women, the Parents' National Education Union (P.N.E.U.), the Child Study Association and the National Free Church Council. Taylor Cadbury's work supporting the Girls' Club Movement, the Young Women's Christian Association (Y.W.C.A.) and the League of Nations is also represented among her public addresses, many of which reflect her religious outlook as a member of the Religious Society of Friends. Annotations on these documents reveal that Taylor Cadbury actively edited, collected and preserved copies of her public addresses as part of her personal archive throughout her life. This illustrates their function as records of her participation in a diverse range of public works and her engagement with contemporary debate concerning religious and social issues.
A number of the public addresses in this section are undated. Where it has been possible to suggest an approximate date for these documents, they have been listed in sequence with the dated addresses which are catalogued here in chronological order. Undated addresses which provide no indication of their dating have been listed together following the dated addresses. |