Charity, Philanthropy, and Civility in American History (Paperback)

~ Lawrence J. Friedman (Editor), Mark D. McGarvie (Editor) "During the first 200 years of European settlements in North America, the ideas and practices of Christian charity were replaced with a pattern of philanthropy..." (more)
Key Phrases: black industrial education, scientific giving, scientific philanthropists, United States, New York, African American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"By demonstrating that philanthropic activities have often involved efforts by both individuals and groups to create a society modeled on their own values and vision, the contributors have provided a provocative analysis that will transform the very meaning of philanthropy. This is a major contribution to both American history and the history of philanthropy. Its authors also demonstrate that philanthropic activities--however valuable--cannot substitute for collective public action to deal with major social problems." Gerald N. Grob, Henry E. Sigerist Professor of the History of Medicine Emeritus, Rutgers University

"Students of the history of charity and philanthropy have been waiting a long time for a successor to Robert Bremner's classic survey of the field. They need wait no longer, since this solid collection of essays provides a cogent, up-to-date, and teachable text. The Friedman and McGarvie volume is an important indication that the history of philanthropy has come of age as a field of study." Stanley N. Katz, Professor of the Woodrow Wilson School and Director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Princeton University

"Charity, Philanthropy, and Civility in American History is a valuable scholarly corrective to earlier mythical and exclusionary views of American philanthropy, and an affirmation of more critical perspectives. Indeed, this book may be the single most important work to come out of the new philanthropic studies. It should be read by researchers, policymakers, and thoughtful practitioners alike." Susan A. Ostrander, Professor of Sociology, Tufts University

"Charity, Philanthropy, and Civility in American History will be soon acclaimed as one of the most important works ever published on a subject too long neglected. An inspired introduction by Lawrence J. Friedman prepares both scholar and general reader for the very accessible but thoroughly penetrating essays on a uniquely American phenomenon organized giving for amazingly diverse objectives, social, cultural, and sometimes political in nature. This anthology deserves a wide and appreciative readership because for over two centuries institutional charity has shaped national destiny in surprising and largely salutary ways." Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Richard J. Milbauer Professor of United States History at the University of Florida

"[This book] should certainly inspire future historians to tackle the topic and, perhaps more important, it will provide practicioners and nonhistorians with a deeper understanding of the roots of American philantropy." Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

"Highly recommended." Choice

Product Description

Professional historians address the dominant issues and theories offered to explain the history of American philanthropy and its role in American society. These essays develop and enlighten major themes, oftentimes contesting each other in the process. The overarching premise is that philanthropic activity in America has its roots in the desires of individuals to impose their visions of societal ideals, or conceptions of truth, upon their society. To do so, they organize in groups that frequently define themselves and their group's role in society.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (March 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521603536
• ISBN-13: 978-0521603539
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #409,154 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid collection, October 24, 2006

By	James R. Rohrer (Kearney, NE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am puzzled by the acidity of the review by "J Onyx", who contrasts the supposedly unscholarly and "Marxist" authors of this collection with the scholarly "gentleman" Robert Bremner, who wrote various works on the history of American Philanthropy. J Onyx even speculates that these historians waited until Professor Bremner was gone before they published their writings.

I was one of Professor Bremner's graduate students at Ohio State and assisted him with his revision of his classic work American Philanthropy. Bob Bremner was indeed a gentleman, and he treated other scholars with an irenic spirit even when he disagreed with them. It is impossible for me to imagine Bob Bremner being so uncharitable of other scholars as J Onyx, or engaging in such an acerbic and inaccurate misrepresentation of a work.

This is an important collection of well-researched essays. Anybody interested in the role of philanthropy in American history must begin with this volume.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars There is No Kind Giving, Just Vile Rich Men, October 24, 2006

By	J_Onyx "I never let my schooling interfere wi... (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

Begin looking this book by carefully reading Friedman's Introduction. Like all his books, its theme is 'rich-man as boggy man', great man as mentally sick man. Friedman is a left wing academic, a true red diaper baby. Seriously, His mother and father were active, card carrying members of the American Communist Party during the days when it was a puppet of the Soviet Union. So are all the authors of the mediocre articles in the book. During the more traditionalist 1970s though esrly 1990s, Friedman keep this quiet, coming out only when he observed the tide turning. Just examine his books & their dates. Until he made a name for himself by subtle trashing of Karl Menninger in an official biography (He bragged about being accused by Dr. Menninger's family for causing the death of Karl, with his book), Friedman published rediculous books in which he tried to shrink dead men with an amateurish grasp of psychoanalysis.

The theme of this book is secular progressive, not history. The authors paint the rich man as boogey man, a left liberal stereotype image of America's great Philanthropists. Rich people are easy to stereotype because few Americans know any, including left liberals who are obsessed with them. The authors of this book have academic careers based on reinterpreting great men as cardboard stick figures who merely foul the American terrain, especially Friedman whose career consists of slandering men of action who are long dead, so they cannot defend themselves.

According to the Friedman ganag, The wealthly philanthropist is just out to get you, out to control your life & mind. How do they have time left for their extravagant socializing, boating & out of control consumerism? Whether he claims to give to improve lives, reduce suffering, or simply to give something back to the people, don't you believe it! Friedman & friends want you to know that they really are out to exploit and manipulate us all, after they are old and long gone.

The good news is that the "work" of most American academics is forgotten before they retire. And quick they are to take early retirement offers! Ask Friedman how many he has taken (so far).

Never you mind the Ford family denouncement of the Ford Foundation, taken over by extreme neo-marxists (who take over charities and foundations in order to use them to give people--anarchy?) or the complaints of several of the families discussed in this book, families who object to secular progressive or neo-marxist take overs of their great ancestor's philanthropic foundation. But "scholars" like Friedman and company - who "know" what Americans really want and what is really best for us all. They just want to help us. They want you to know that the rich man really is out to get you.

Ask yourself, Sociology 101 teaches that members of what large group are all alike?
Fictional Groups. Only in fantasy are memebers of any group all the same. The Rich are not even a group. If so where do "they" meet? The left needs to present a copy of at least an official rich guy roster or a single association they belong to. Don't you think? Do you think Soros, Kennedy, Gates, & Opra Winfrey belong to the same global rich guy club? Beware of huge stereotypes like "The Rich Guys" or "the Rednecks" that extremely few people are even aware of as constituting a left liberal stereotype.

Professor Friedman knows best. The late, great historian Professor Robert H. Bremmner dedicated a career to producing balanced histories of Philanthropists but Friedman and his first sargeant, McGarvie know better than Bremmner and his generation of real historians. Professor Bremmner was a gentleman and scholar and he is still remembered by many. He was not the simpleton Prof Friedman and friends depict him.

Read the reviews of Prof Friedman's first two books, especially "Inventors of the Promised Land". More political and psychoanalytical than historical, the books were roundly rejected as trash. Rightly so.

I wonder if they waited until Scholar Prof Bremmner and his scholarly students passed away before they dared to publish this book. Considering its overwelming favorable reviews, does its poor quality prove that there is no professional scholarely history today, just "fiction" disguised as history?

Look for the Friedman & McGarvie students to trash my review--along with the left liberals. They'll assume I am conservative or right wing, living as they do in a false dichotomy bubble. In an age of American scholarship, outstanding students of true historians pounced on Friedman for his many errors and wild interpertations. Now, his few student jump on anyone who criticises him.

I recommend students read this book, after you read the classic work "How to Read a Book", by Mortimer J. Adler... Do that and you will learn a lot.