The goal of this project is to prepare a second volume covering the history of the mental hospital in the United States and the development of social policy since 1875 (the first volume, published in 1973, covered the period to 1875). The work will deal with the mature development of the mental hospital, the general methods of therapy in different periods and their relationship to the cultural and intellectual milieu, administrative and financial concerns, the attitude of the public and government, social and class differences in care and treatment, relationships between the community and hospital, the development of state and other types of mental hospitals and the administrative and legal framework in which they operated, regional differences, and the emergence of psychiatry, psychology, and social work (as well as other allied professions), as well as the relationships between various professional groups. In brief, the basic objective will be to place current issues in the mental health field within a meaningful historical framework. While utilizing standard historical research techniques, this study will also employ a cross-disciplinary approach by incorporating the findings and methodologies of other social science and related disciplines.