Charity and philanthropy: a history of "deeply compelling visions."
7/21/2003
Historians Lawrence Friedman and Mark McGarvie describe the history of American philanthropy as one of individuals and corporations "intensely focused on inspirational visions for the ‘good society.'" This new collection of essays by eighteen scholars provides a fascinating look at how philanthropy has shifted shape as America has developed. As viewed through chapters covering the origins of Anglo-American sensibility in the 1660s (initiated by the "Cambridge Platonists in England), through early American treatment of Native Americans, issues around slavery, the rise of science, the Civil Rights movement, and through the advent and aftermath of welfare programs in the U.S., the history of philanthropy is shown as an evolving country's struggle to define itself