In 1919, U.S. bishops formed the National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) as the annual meeting of the Church's American hierarchy. One of the original departments with NCWC was the Department of Social Action, better known by the acronym SAD, which sought to implement in practical ways the Church's thoughts on social issues. To accomplish this, the department would sponsor addresses and lectures, publish literature, and conduct conferences. Much of the department's focus tended to be on industrial relations, which is seen in the documents presented here.
(More on this subject can be found in the exhibit "The Catholic Church, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and Labor in the United States, 1930-1950")
