The historian Henry Steele Commager ranked Ward alongside William James, John Dewey and Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and called him the father of the modern welfare state.
Ajaloolane Henry Steele Commager pani Wardi ühte ritta William Jamesi, John Dewey ja Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.-iga ning nimetas teda kaasaegse hoolekanderiigi isaks.