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David T. Beito

From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890-1967 Paperback – May 29, 2000

by David T. Beito (Author)

4.6 21 ratings

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During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, more Americans belonged to fraternal societies than to any other kind of voluntary association, with the possible exception of churches. Despite the stereotypical image of the lodge as the exclusive domain of white men, fraternalism cut across race, class, and gender lines to include women, African Americans, and immigrants. Exploring the history and impact of fraternal societies in the United States, David Beito uncovers the vital importance they had in the social and fiscal lives of millions of American families.

Much more than a means of addressing deep-seated cultural, psychological, and gender needs, fraternal societies gave Americans a way to provide themselves with social-welfare services that would otherwise have been inaccessible, Beito argues. In addition to creating vast social and mutual aid networks among the poor and in the working class, they made affordable life and health insurance available to their members and established hospitals, orphanages, and homes for the elderly. Fraternal societies continued their commitment to mutual aid even into the early years of the Great Depression, Beito says, but changing cultural attitudes and the expanding welfare state eventually propelled their decline.

Print length

338 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date

May 29, 2000
Dimensions

6.14 x 0.85 x 9.21 inches
ISBN-10

0807848417
ISBN-13

978-0807848418
Lexile measure

1620L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

[He] has captured one of the most important ways lodges [lifted] people up, which was to give them a shield against destitution and dependency.

"The Washington Monthly"

ÝBeito¨ convincingly argues that fraternal organizations embodied values that appealed to a broad range of Americans.

"American Historical Review"

ÝHe¨ has captured one of the most important ways lodges Ýlifted¨ people up, which was to give them a shield against destitution and dependency.

"The Washington Monthly"

Beito's history is fascinating and instructive in itself, but it is also well-presented.

"Wall Street Journal"

It has insights especially for sociologists interested in social movements, voluntary organizations, social work, empowerment, and American social history.

"American Journal of Sociology"

"[He] has captured one of the most important ways lodges [lifted] people up, which was to give them a shield against destitution and dependency.

"The Washington Monthly""

"Beito's history is fascinating and instructive in itself, but it is also well-presented.

"Wall Street Journal""

"It has insights especially for sociologists interested in social movements, voluntary organizations, social work, empowerment, and American social history.

"American Journal of Sociology""

[Beito] convincingly argues that fraternal organizations embodied values that appealed to a broad range of Americans.

"American Historical Review"

A wonderful book. .

"Harvard Business History Review"

From the Inside Flap

David Beito's book establishes the enormous impact of fraternal societies on the social lives and fiscal circumstances of millions of Americans between 1890 and 1967. In addition to creating vast social and mutual aid networks for the poor and the working class, fraternal organizations offered insurance policies to members and established hospitals, orphanages, and homes for the elderly.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University of North Carolina Press; New edition (May 29, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 338 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0807848417
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807848418
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1620L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.85 x 9.21 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #173,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #104 in Political Economy
- #110 in Social Services & Welfare (Books)
- #258 in Economic Conditions (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 21 ratings

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David T. Beito

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David T. Beito is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and Professor of History at the University of Alabama. He received his Ph.D. in history at the University of Wisconsin, and he is the recipient of the Ellis Hawley Prize. Professor Beito is the author of Taxpayers in Revolt: Tax Resistance during the Great Depression, From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890-1967, and T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, and Civil Rights Pioneer (with Linda Royster Beito).

Former President of the Alabama Scholars Association and Chair of the Alabama State Advisory Committee of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Professor Beito is the Founder of the “Liberty and Power” blog at the History News Network.

An urban and social historian, Professor Beito has published in the Journal of Southern History, Journal of Policy History, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Journal of Urban History, The Independent Review, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Journal of Firearms and Public Policy, and other scholarly journals. And, his popular articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Perspectives, History News Network, National Review, Reason, and elsewhere.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

21 global ratings

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Wil Kis

Wonderful book, well worth the read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 26, 2021

Verified Purchase

Covers changes in our society from"self help" among groups to the welfare state. Answers a lot of questions about the state of our society.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

jbdmd

Mutual aid? Self Help?! IMPOSSIBLE!!!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 16, 2012

Verified Purchase

Beito's work clearly chronicles the spontaneous, organic development of mutual aid societies and the role they played before the development of the welfare state and gives lie to the claim that "except for government" people would be helpless and "dying in the street". The final blow to mutual aid organizations (as mutual aid organizations) came with LBJ and the "great society" programs. Of course, it's turning out "not quite so great" as eventually had to be. Or, to paraphrase Margaret Thatcher: "The only problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money".

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Jared Wall

Some of the most important history that nobody knows about ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

Some of the most important history that nobody knows about. When we're accused of "hating the poor" because of our opposition to welfare, this book gives the ammunition to defend ourselves and provide a voluntary and historically successful alternative.

6 people found this helpful

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Matthew

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 5, 2017

Verified Purchase

Amazing book on a poorly understood topic.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Efrem Sepulveda

There was a time...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 7, 2010

when fraternal societies were more than just places to socialize and drink various adult beverages and be the butt of jokes of sitcoms and cartoon series like the Flintstones. This book shows that they were, along with churches, at the forefront of providing for the needs of their members and the widows, widowers and children of those members. This book was a smooth, yet incomplete, reading that contained 234 pages plus an index, notes and extensive bibliography. The author showed that such societies sprouted up among all ethnicities that tended to their own during times of difficulty. The book also shows how they expanded into life insurnace and housing for orphanages as well as their decline with the rise of public assistance in the 1930s.

Being that this book was an interelibrary loan, I was unable to complete the full reading of the book and that I wished that the book had a longer conclusion which I read skipping other portions of the book due to the book being due shortly. This is a vital book that shows that the rise of government assistance made charity put on a bureaucractic face that cared little for the public at large and that in the conclusion there were people in the 1930s who warned of such inpersonal aspects of government assistance; the lodges and orders lost much of their power at this time which was sad in my opinion. Highly recommended.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dr S J Davies

rediscovering a lost institution

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 15, 2000

This book is about something that was once a central par of working class American life but has now almost vanished from sight. That something is "mutual aid" or "fraternalism", the way ordinary people, often poor, organised and acted collectively for mutual help and benefit. The book looks at the history of this phenomenon, its extent (enormous), the kind of services provided (very wide ranging - literally cradle to grave), and the institutions it created, the so-called "fraternal societies" such as Elks, Moose, Knights of Tabor etc. Some chapters look at particular examples such as "Mooseheart", (the orphanage of the Loyal order of Moose) or the creation of a hospital in the Delta by poor rural blacks via the Knights and Daughters of Tabor. Today we tend to believe that these kind of services can only be provided by government or (perhaps) by commercial enterprise. This shows that for most of the last two hundred years (and not only in America) they have been provided by the free co-operation of ordinary people. As Beito points out the benefits provided by mutual aid institutions were rights, not handouts, on a reciprocal basis, rather than one of hierarchy and dependency, and tied to a strict and elevated moral code. He also shows that women were heavily involved via their own orders (often feminist), and that blacks and immigrants were disproportionately likely to be involved. The book is based on detailed empirical research, with a huge array of illustrations and examples. One obvious question is where have all these institutions gone. The title says it - mutual aid has been replaced by the welfare state, partly because of intellectual shifts, partly due to the impact of the Great Depression. On reading this you may well ask, Has this been a gain?

43 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sean Rosenthal

The Imagination of a Free Society

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2013

When I read it a couple years ago, I really liked David Beito's book From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State. However, unlike a number of books I liked when reading them, I find myself more and more drawn to it as time goes on.

I think F.A. Hayek in the Intellectuals and Socialism basically explains why, remarking:

"[W]e must be able to offer a new liberal program which appeals to the imagination. We must make the building of a free society once more an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage. What we lack is a liberal Utopia . . . "
[...]

In that light, the book's charm is how it shows that reasonably free people - even the poorest among the free - could create institutional arrangements that improved and evolved over time to resolve their problems, from funeral costs to healthcare expenses, from unemployment to retirement. Beito does a better job capturing the imagination of what can be done through voluntary cooperation than essentially anyone else I've read.

It really is a must read. Highly recommend.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Eric Maher

Too dry, too vague

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 16, 2021

It's dry as dust. I gave up after 29 pages. There's no meat to it, no big picture.

Also, many of the statistics include something like "... although figures are unavailable regarding how many people relied on aid from churches."

The subject is interesting to me, but not how this book presents it.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

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