Bibliograph

Civic gifts, voluntarism and the making of the American nation-state, Elisabeth S. Clemens

Type

Label

Civic gifts, voluntarism and the making of the American nation-state, Elisabeth S. Clemens

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 365-392) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Civic gifts

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

1089886237

Responsibility statement

Elisabeth S. Clemens

Sub title

voluntarism and the making of the American nation-state

Summary

"Civic Gifts traces how practices of reciprocity and organized mass benevolence-that is, philanthropy-have contributed to the development of novel forms of national solidarity and impressive governing capacities in the United States, contributing even to a famously anti-statist political culture. Sociologist Elisabeth Clemens paints a picture of the US, whether as nation or as state, as a puzzle. How, she asks, did a sense of shared nationhood develop despite the linguistic, religious, and ethnic differences among the settlers? How did a global power emerge from an often anti-statist political culture? How did some version of this collective identity come to be articulated with organized governance? With Civic Gifts, Clemens reveals that an important piece of the answer to these questions can be found in the unexpected political uses of philanthropy and the power of gifts to mobilize communities and to create solidarity among strangers"--, Provided by publisher

Table Of Contents

Principles of Association and Combination -- Civil War, Civic Expansion: The "Divine Method" of Patriotism -- Municipal Benevolence -- The Expansible Nation-State -- "Everything but Government Submarines": Limits of a Semi-governmental System -- In the Shadow of the New Deal -- The People's Partnership -- Good Citizens of a World Power -- Combinatorial Politics and Constitutive Contradictions

Creator