Relationship of Philanthropy to the Industrial Revolution

By Sharon T. Ellens

Graduate Student, Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

Definition

Philanthropy can best be understood by considering a number of different definitions:

Affection for mankind, especially as manifested in donations of money, property, or work to needy persons or to socially useful purposes (Random House).

The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, or... an activity or institution intended to promote human welfare (American Heritage).

What we give to alleviate the need, suffering, and sorrow of others, whether we know them or not, is charity. What we give to prevent and correct social and environmental problems and improve life and living conditions for people and creatures we don't know and who have no claim on us is philanthropy. (Bremner 1996).

Considering the common ideas in these definitions, it seems clear that the concept of philanthropy goes beyond merely relieving need; rather it attempts to address the causes of that need.

The term Industrial Revolution, indicating a time of great changes in manufacturing and technology, originated in France in 1837 and was introduced into general usage by Arnold Toynbee in his Lectures on the Industrial Revolution. Following the first wave of industrialization in Britain between 1760 and 1830, the American Industrial Revolution occurred approximately between 1790 and 1860 (Hindle and Lubar 1986).

Historic Roots

Before the Industrial Revolution, manufacture of goods needed for daily life was largely done in homes or small shops. Hand tools and simple machines in the hands of skilled craftsmen and women produced textiles, clothing, ceramics, glass, tools, and furniture. Masters worked side-by-side with their apprentices, who often lived in the same household. Agriculture was done on a small scale using handmade tools. The result was generally high prices for relatively crude goods.

The Industrial Revolution brought major advances in resources and equipment. The two key factors responsible for a tremendous increase in productivity were improved iron production and the invention of steam power; these allowed the creation of mechanized textile factories for spinning and weaving. The manufacture of tools was transformed by the invention of grinding machines and drill presses. Methods of agriculture changed as well, with the advent of mechanical seed drills, reapers, and threshers. The result of these innovations was increased production of consumer goods and decreased prices, thus allowing a higher standard of living at all levels of society.

Increasingly, manufacturing occurred in factories with low-skilled employees. At the same time, mechanized agriculture prompted workers to move to towns and cities looking for jobs, providing a pool of cheap labor. The United States also experienced a huge influx of immigrants from Europe during the mid-1800s, most of which settled in urban areas.

Many far-reaching social changes occurred as a result of industrialization. Factory work was boring and jobs insecure, demanding long hours at low pay, usually with very dangerous working conditions. Child labor was common. Urbanization often brought crowded and unhealthy living conditions. The needs of widows and orphans grew as the traditional support network of family and community became less common. The gap between rich and poor increased as business owners, managers, and high-skilled technicians swelled the ranks of the upper and middle classes, while factory workers often had a difficult time escaping poverty.

Changes in philanthropy also came about because of the Industrial Revolution. Not only were needs greater, but the ability of private citizens to meet those needs also grew. Earlier, in the mid- to late-eighteenth century, colonial society was ill equipped to deal with the growing number of orphans, widows, disabled soldiers, refugees, elderly, and sick. "Private fortunes were few and wealth neither widely enough distributed nor sufficiently fluid to permit large-scale or sustained private giving" (Bremner 1988). The Industrial Revolution not only created wealth for a larger number of people, but also afforded better means of communication and transportation, allowing the distribution of aid and ideas.

All these changes impacted the need for, attitudes toward, and ability to practice philanthropy. Several key features characterized nineteenth-century philanthropy: associations, morality, advocacy, and scientific philanthropy and charity reform. Late in the century, giving to cultural causes also became more prominent.

Associations
Due particularly to urbanization, traditional methods of charity to individuals via church, family, and community were largely replaced by collective aid to large numbers of needy from people who did not personally know the recipients. Philanthropy became a popular and socially acceptable activity, prompting the creations of hundreds of organizations. Giving through associations was a well-established tradition in American philanthropy. By the 1820s, larger cities had almost an overabundance of charitable organizations (Bremner 1988). Consortiums and coalitions began to develop among charities (Olasky 1995). Thanks to better communication, local societies became regional and, later, national in scope.

Morality
Philanthropy during and after the Industrial Revolution generally respected the social values of the day. Not only were the poor expected to conform to moral standards before they could receive aid, but accepted standards of morality also dictated the philanthropic actions of the wealthy.

Regarding the poor, popular wisdom demanded the diffusion of "knowledge, self-respect, self-control, morality, and religion through all classes of the population" (Bremner 1988). Many charities gave only to the ''worthy poor" and, then, it was in-kind philanthropy rather than in the form of money. The Boston Provident Association, for example, gave food, clothes, or fuel to those willing to work, but it did not disburse money and refused to help drunkards. Equal treatment was not the goal, rather, the intent was to help those unable to help themselves (Olasky 1995).

Morality was a two-way street, affecting the wealthy as well as the needy. Ostentatious displays of affluence were generally frowned upon, leaving to the wealthy only "the luxury of doing good" (Bremner 1988). Andrew Carnegie, one of the most influential men of the 1800s, believed that the rich were mere stewards of their wealth and that a man who died with wealth intact was a disgrace. Carnegie considered it the duty of the rich to use their wealth and wisdom to benefit the community and the poor (Burlingame 1992).

Advocacy
One major form of philanthropy during the nineteenth century was advocacy for causes"”namely, temperance in alcohol consumption; abolition of slavery, improvement of conditions for factory workers, prisoners, and the mentally ill; and minority and women's rights (Bremner 1996). Women, in particular, took on a much larger role in advocacy than they had in the past. After the Industrial Revolution, and especially in urban areas, educated middle- and upper-class women had more time, interest, and resources to volunteer and advocate for community service and social reform (Olasky 1995).

Scientific philanthropy and charity reform
Two additional, related efforts"”scientific philanthropy and charity reform"”arose in response to fears of indiscriminate aid and pauperism (i.e., "lackadaisical poverty" or a state of perpetual dependence due to idleness). Early in the century, the Society for the Prevention of Pauperism in the City of New York tried to educate charitable people by printing a list of causes of pauperism, which included charities that were too generous in giving money away (Ibid.).

There was a growing understanding that truly helping the poor required more than impulsive generosity. Charity reformers used what they called "scientific philanthropy," which meant investigating the causes of need, influencing the morals of the poor by personal involvement, and encouraging gainful employment at a time when jobs were readily available.

The scientific approach to philanthropy became especially popular during and after the Civil War, bringing order to previously sporadic and largely uncoordinated charitable efforts, and reforming both private charity and public welfare. Health services were reorganized, relief operations were better coordinated, more attention was paid to the needs of particular individuals and the root causes of poverty. Interestingly, social science surged in popularity (Bremner 1988).

Cultural Causes
The latter part of the nineteenth century also saw a growing emphasis placed on giving to cultural causes. A natural outgrowth of scientific philanthropy"”giving to libraries, universities, medical laboratories, and the like"”was viewed as a way to address the root of social problems by helping the best and most ambitious of the poor improve their own situations. Andrew Carnegie (1900) in his Gospel of Wealth listed some of what he considered to be the best uses of surplus wealth: universities, libraries, hospitals, laboratories, public parks, and meeting and concert halls.

Importance

In the late 1880s, two major movements grew out of these philanthropic ideas"”settlement houses and trusts. One had an important impact on the social conscience of the American public, the other on methods of funding philanthropic causes.

Settlement houses were a response to the perceived need for personal involvement with those in poverty, as opposed to large-scale, impersonal assistance. Settlement houses were designed to allow their residents"”typically educated young men and women"”to develop a deeper understanding of the problems of the poor by living among them, getting to know them, and joining them in their efforts to improve their lives (Bremner 1988). Jane Addams' Hull House, founded in Chicago in 1889, was the premiere example of the Settlement House movement.

The idea of settlement houses resonated with the upper and middle class. "[They] became fashionable, and dozens of settlement houses were established by young men and women inspired by Jane Addams' example" (Smith 1984). Although settlement houses had their shortcomings, they did serve to make the upper classes more aware of the true situation of the urban poor.

One other outcome of the Industrial Revolution-the creation of enormous wealth for few individuals-"”had far"”reaching implications for philanthropy. The creation of substantial charitable trusts was a popular response among the affluent to public need in the last decade of the 1800s and into the early 1900s. Many of those trusts are still in existence today.

Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were prime examples of those who had accumulated fortunes due to their investments during the Industrial Revolution; their wealth totaled hundreds of millions of dollars. Existing approaches to philanthropy were inadequate for dispensing wealth on this scale.

Modern philanthropy took shape in the years between about 1885 and 1915 as multimillionaires . . . sought practical, socially useful ways of disposing of surplus wealth. Because of the immensity of their fortunes they had to think in wholesale terms: simple acts of kindness and generosity to widows and orphans or a traveler found wounded on a highway were not sufficient for their means. (Bremner 1996).

A more effective method of organizing what Rockefeller called "this business of benevolence" had to be developed. Rockefeller proposed trusts as the obvious answer. Trusts and foundations, with professional managers, could distribute private wealth "with greater intelligence and vision than the donors themselves could hope to possess" (Bremner 1988). Unlike smaller trusts established earlier, the very large trusts founded at this time were dedicated to advancing knowledge and human welfare. They were not meant to provide relief for individuals, but rather to research the root causes of need.

Both of these philanthropic ideas"”settlement houses and trusts"”continue to influence American philanthropy today. Increased attention to social action and constructive public social policy are part of the legacy of settlement houses. The number of trusts and foundations also continues to increase as affluent people attempt to support charitable purposes more systematically.

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

Some of the first major philanthropic organizations that began after the Industrial Revolution (many, as a result of fortunes accrued from it) include:

• Carnegie Corporation of New York (1911), Carnegie's largest foundation
  
  
• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1905)
  
  
• Carnegie Institution of Washington (1902)
  
  
• Cleveland Foundation (1914), the first community foundation
  
  
• General Education Board (1902), by John D. Rockefeller
  
  
• John F. Slater Fund (1882), to help educate former slaves
  
  
• Peabody Fund (1867), the first modern foundation
  
  
• Rockefeller Foundation (1913)
  
  
• The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1901)
  
  
• Russell Sage Foundation (1907), founded by Mrs. Margaret Olivia Sage

Key Related Ideas

• Advocacy
  
  
• Charity
  
  
• Charity reform
  
  
• Foundations
  
  
• Immigration
  
  
• Industrialization
  
  
• Pauperism
  
  
• "Scientific philanthropy"
  
  
• Settlement houses
  
  
• Trusts
  
  
• Urbanization
  
  
• "Worthy poor"

Important People Related to the Topic

• Jane Addams: Founded Hull House in Chicago in 1889.
  
  
• Andrew Carnegie: Immigrant from Scotland, best known for the fortune he made in the steel industry and for the establishment of thousands of free public libraries throughout the United States and the world. Carnegie wrote Wealth, later called The Gospel of Wealth, in 1889.
  
  
• Peter Cooper: Established the Cooper Union in New York City for free instruction in science and art.
  
  
• Stephen Girard: At his death in 1831, Girard left the largest American fortune to date to charitable causes.
  
  
• John D. Rockefeller: Amassed enormous wealth in the oil industry and established the Rockefeller Foundation.
  
  
• Alexis de Tocqueville: Frenchman who described the American inclination to organize voluntary associations. Tocqueville also made insightful observations about the developing political and social systems in his Democracy in America (1835).
  
  
• Cornelius Vanderbilt: Gave $1 million to found Vanderbilt University in 1873. Vanderbilt was uneducated, but he built the largest fortune in America at the time of his death in 1877.

Related Nonprofit Organizations

• Carnegie Hall was built with a large donation from Andrew Carnegie in 1891. Its purpose is "to continue to be one of the world's leading institutions in presenting great music, and in promoting music education, music creation, and music enjoyment in a landmark concert hall" (http://www.carnegiehall.org/jsps/intro.jsp).
  
  
• The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore is one of the oldest free libraries in the United States, established in 1882 with an endowment of $833,333.
  
  
• The Lick Observatory at the University of California, founded in 1888 by eccentric millionaire James Lick, is a leading research observatory after over 100 years of operation.
  
  
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was founded in 1870 by a group of American businessmen. Today, the Met, as it is called, owns over two million pieces of artwork from across the world and all points in history. A portion of the Met's collection can be viewed on its Web site at http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/index.asp?
  HomePageLink=collections_r.
  
  
• Stanford University was founded by California Governor and Senator Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane Leland, in memory of their son, Leland, Jr., who died before his sixteenth birthday. The University was opened in 1891 as a coeducational and non-denominational institution, a very non-traditional approach at the time. It now exists on the former Leland estate of over 8000 acres.
  
  
• Vanderbilt University was built and endowed in 1873 by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt with a $1 million gift. Today, Vanderbilt's mission is to be "a center for scholarly research, informed and creative teaching, and service to the community and the society at large. The University avows as its essential task the unique fusing of the quest for knowledge through scholarship with the dissemination of knowledge through teaching" (http://www.vanderbilt.edu). The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, dedicated to preserving and protecting First Amendment rights, is located at Vanderbilt.

Related Web Sites

The Henry Street Settlement Web site provides information on the history, programs and services of this settlement house founded in 1893 in New York City. Among what is offered:

[A] community mental health clinic, a battered women's shelter, transitional residences for homeless families and single women... a senior center... a multi-disciplinary arts center, arts-in-education programming, home care initiatives, and a broad spectrum of educational, employment, recreational, camping, community service, after-school, counseling, and leadership development programs for youth. (http://www.henrystreet.org)

Industrial Revolution in America, 1890-1910, of the Washington Irving Middle School Web site, contains links to resources, photographs, and Web sites related to the Industrial Revolution. The links provide information on the Temperance and Suffrage movements, child labor, coal mining, the gilded age, communications, inventions, and more. [No longer available].

The Jane Addams Hull House Web site, at http://www.hullhouse.org, provides information on the various community centers and projects, and the advocacy and public policy work of the Hull House Association. The mission of the organization is "to improve social conditions for underserved people and communities."

Modern History Sourcebook: Andrew Carnegie: The Gospel of Wealth, 1889, on the Fordham University Web site, contains excerpts from Carnegie's 1889 article (at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1889carnegie.html).

The Museum of American Financial History Web site contains an exhibit about John D. Rockefeller, with photographs, timeline, bibliography, kid's page, and links to related Web sites (http://www.financialhistory.org).

The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie, on the PBS Web site, at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/index.html, provides extensive information related to this episode of the PBS series, American Experience. A timeline, teacher's guide, program transcript, and information on Carnegie's life are found on the site.

Bibliography and Internet Sources

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., s.v. "philanthropy."

Bremner, Robert H. American Philanthropy. 2nd ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1988. ISBN: 0226073254.

Bremner, Robert H. Giving: Charity and Philanthropy in History. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1996. ISBN: 1560008849.

Burlingame, Dwight F., ed. The Responsibilities of Wealth. Indianapolis, IN: University Press, 1992. ISBN: 0253312795.

Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth and Other Timely Essays. Edited by Edward C. Kirkland. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1900.

Hindle, Brooke and Steven D. Lubar. Engines of Change: The American Industrial Revolution 1790-1860. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1986. ISBN: 087474539X.

Olasky, Marvin. The Tragedy of American Compassion. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1995. Paperback: ISBN: 0891078630.

Random House College Dictionary, 2d ed., s.v. "philanthropy."

Smith, Page. The Rise of Industrial America: A People's History of the Post-Reconstruction Era. Vol.. 6. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1984.