Charity, philanthropy, and civility in American history

The study of philanthropy has transcended the structure of traditional disciplines, often involving non-historians in historical analysis. This book presents professional historians addressing the dominant issues and theories offered to explain the history of American philanthropy and its role in American society. The essays develop and enlighten the major themes proposed by the book's editors, in some instances taking issue with 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 have organised in groups, frequently defining themselves and their group's role in society in the process.

• Introduction: philanthropy in America: historicism and its discontents Lawrence J. Friedman
• Part I. Giving and Caring in Early America, 1601-1861: 1. Giving in America: from charity to organised philanthropy Robert Gross
• 2. Protestant missionaries: pioneers of early American philanthropy Amanda Porterfield
• 3. The origins of Anglo-American sensibility G. J. Barker Benfield
• 4. The Dartmouth College case and the legal design of American philanthropy Mark McGarvie
• 5. Rethinking assimilation: American Indians and the practice of Christianity, 1800-1861 Stephen Warren
• 6. Antebellum reform: salvation, self-control, and social transformation Wendy Gamber
• Part II. The Nationalisation and Internationalising of American Philanthropy, 1861-1930: 7. Law, reconstruction, and African-American education in post-emancipation South Foy Finkenbine
• 8. Women and political culture Kathleen McCarthy
• 9. From gift to foundation: the philanthropic lives of Mrs Russell Sage Ruth Crocker
• 10. 'Curing evils at their source': the arrival of 'scientific giving' Judy Sealander
• 11. Missions to the world: philanthropy abroad Emily Rosenberg
• Part III. Philanthropic Reconstructions, 1930-2001: 12. Failure and resilience: pushing the limits in depression and wartime David Hammack
• 13. Faith and good works: catholic giving and taking Mary Oates
• 14. In defence of diversity: Jewish thought from assimilation to cultural pluralism Stephen Whitfield
• 15. Waging the Cold War in the third world: the foundations and the challenges of development Gary Hess
• 16. Philanthropy, the civil rights movement, and the politics of racial reform Claude Clegg
• 17. Philanthropy, the welfare state, and the careers of public and private institutions since 1945 Peter Hall
• Epilogue: The European Comparison William Cohen.