Private Wealth and Public Life: Foundation Philanthropy and the Reshaping of American Social Policy from the Progressive Era to the New Deal

Private Wealth and Public Life: Foundation Philanthropy and the Reshaping of American Social Policy from the Progressive Era to the New Deal by Sealander, Judith. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780801854606.

An analysis of the role played by private philanthropic foundations in shaping public policy during the early years of this century―focusing on foundation-sponsored attempts to influence policy in the areas of education, social welfare, and public health. Winner of the Outstanding Book Award from the Ohio Academy of History In Private Wealth and Public Life, historian Judith Sealander analyzes the role played by private philanthropic foundations in shaping public policy during the early years of this century. Focusing on foundation-sponsored attempts to influence policy in the areas of education, social welfare, and public health, she addresses significant misunderstandings about the place of philanthropic foundations in American life. Between 1903 and 1932, fewer than a dozen philanthropic organizations controlled most of the hundreds of millions of dollars given to various causes. Among these, Sealander finds, seven foundations attempted to influence public social policy in significant ways―four were Rockefeller philanthropies, joined later by the Russell Sage, Rosenwald, and Commonwealth Fund foundations. Challenging the extreme views of foundations either as benevolent forces for social change or powerful threats to democracy, Sealander offers a more subtle understanding of foundations as important players in a complex political environment. The huge financial resources of some foundations bought access, she argues, but never complete control. Occasionally a foundations agenda became public policy; often it did not. Whatever the results, the foundations and their efforts spurred the emergence of an American state with a significantly expanded social-policy-making role. xxxxxxx xx x xxxxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxx xx xx xxxxxxxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx xx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxx xxxxxx xxx xx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx "xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx" xxx xxxxxxx "xxxxxx x xxxxx xxxx xxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xx xxxxxxxx xx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xx xxxx xxx xxxxxx x xxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxxx xx xxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx"