For the Common Good? American Civic Life and the Golden Age of Fraternity

by Kaufman, Jason

• ISBN13: 9780195148589
• ISBN10: 0195148584
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-17
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Golden Age of Fraternity was a unique time in American history. Joining clubs, fraternities, militias, and mutual benefit societies between the Civil and First World Wars was so prevalent that many contemporaries see it as a model for a revitalization of American civil society today. Relying on extensive analysis of city directories, club histories, and membership lists, For the Common Good? aims to dispel many of the myths about the curative powers of clubbing while bringing to light the hidden lessons therein.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
For the Common Good?	p. 2
Introduction The Tocqueville Debate-what's at Stake?	p. 3
Associational Growth and Decline, 1870-1920	p. 15
Rise and Fall of a Nation of Joiners	p. 17
Some Socioeconomic Factors Underlying the Associational Boom	p. 33
Communitas, or Some Sociocultural Factors Behind the Boom	p. 56
Competitive Voluntarism and American Political Development	p. 83
The Associational Origins of Special-Interest Group Politics in the United States	p. 85
The Struggle to Organize American Workers	p. 101
Civilian Military Organizations and the Destabilization of American National Security	p. 120
Antistatism and Associationalism Before the New Deal	p. 144
Social Change, Social Capital, and the Future of Democracy in America	p. 161
Commercial Insurance, Ethnic Assimilation, and the Decline of American Fraternalism	p. 163
Social Capital, Racial Protectionism, and Sectarian Social Organization	p. 178
Conclusion	p. 193
Appendix: U. S. City Directories Consulted	p. 199
Notes	p. 209
Bibliography	p. 255
Index	p. 279
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