From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State

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. |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.

David T. Beito is Associate Professor at the University of Alabama. He received his Ph.D. in history at the University of Wisconsin in 1986. Professor Beito is the author of Taxpayers in Revolt: Tax Resistance during the Great Depression and From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: Fraternal Societies and Social Services, 1890-1967. An urban and social historian, he has published in the Journal of Interdisciplinary History, the Journal of Policy History, the Journal of Southern History, and the Journal of Urban History, among other scholarly journals. He is currently writing a biography of Dr. T.R.M. Howard, a black civil rights pioneer, entrepreneur, and mutual-aid leader. Peter Gordon is Professor in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development and in the Department of Economics at the University of Southern California. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. Professor Gordon has published in most of the major urban-planning, urban-transportation, and urban-economics journals. He has consulted for local, state, and federal agencies; the World Bank; the United Nations; and many private groups. Professor Gordon is co-editor of the journal Planning and Markets, an all-electronic refereed journal. Alexander Tabarrok is Vice President and Research Director for the Independent Institute. He received his Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University, and he has taught at the University of Virginia and Ball State University. Papers by Dr. Tabarrok have appeared in the Journal of Law and Economics, Public Choice, Economic Inquiry, the Journal of Health Economics, the Journal of Theoretical Politics, and many other journals. He is the editor of Entrepreneurial Economics: Bright Ideas from the Dismal Science. Paul Johnson is the author of more than 30 books, including the classic history of the twentieth century, Modern Times, A History of the American People, The Birth of the Modern, A History of Christianity, and The Civilization of Ancient Egypt. His most recent book is The Renaissance: A Short History. Ramesh Ramanathan, an MBA from Yale School of Management and a former Managing Director of Citibank N.A., is presently based in Bangalore. He is the founder and Campaign Coordinator of Janaagraha, a citizen movement for participatory democracy. Janaagraha's approach is distinguished by its focus on constructive engagement with government, and an emphasis on practical patriotism and professional voluntarism. He is also the Vice-Chairman of Sanghamithra, a microfinance institution, spearheading their urban microfinance program. Ramesh is also the co-author of the book, Urban Poverty Alleviation in India. Ramesh is a member of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force, a public-private partnership initiative of the Chief Minister of the state of Karnataka. Robert C. Arne is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Chicago. He holds a master's degree from the University of Chicago and is preparing a thesis that probes the influen