Difference between revisions of "426--Week 4 Questions/Comments--Thursday"
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'''Religion''' Chapter Four's discussion of the role that evangelicalism played in the changing nature of philanthropy really shocked me. I believe that the warped nature of the middle classes charity to the poor is best expressed in the women's refusal to help a women who was 9 months pregnant, simply because she could not verify that she was married. People genuinely in need of help died because the did not live up to the moral criteria of those who were in a position to assist them. While I am sure that there were genuinely chartable men and women working to help the urban poor at that time, it seems that most reformers were looking to help a class of people which truly did not exist. Their good works appear to be aimed more at assuring themselves of their moral superiority then their Christian duty to lend a helping hand. --Sarah Gardner | '''Religion''' Chapter Four's discussion of the role that evangelicalism played in the changing nature of philanthropy really shocked me. I believe that the warped nature of the middle classes charity to the poor is best expressed in the women's refusal to help a women who was 9 months pregnant, simply because she could not verify that she was married. People genuinely in need of help died because the did not live up to the moral criteria of those who were in a position to assist them. While I am sure that there were genuinely chartable men and women working to help the urban poor at that time, it seems that most reformers were looking to help a class of people which truly did not exist. Their good works appear to be aimed more at assuring themselves of their moral superiority then their Christian duty to lend a helping hand. --Sarah Gardner | ||
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| + | '''Evangelicals:''' In Chapter 4 we see the emergence of an evangelical movement within the cities to eradicate sin and save souls. In particular the idea of home visits emerge, where evangelical Christians would visit homes of poor, working-class families to check in, evaluate the conditions, and possibly provide religious information or support in the form of Bibles or pamphlets. We also see that men in particular were interested in visiting the poor and eradicating sins such as drunkenness, sins that directly affected their workers in order to increase the work that poor men could complete. Home visits and evangelical outreach into the community was also a means for women to appropriately act charitable towards poor women. I found it particularly interesting that there were standards (i.e. character references and marriage certificates) that helped to limit which poor women were helped. We still see the bourgeois’ views of the role of women within the family and household as standards to which to measure all women. Childrearing, housekeeping, paid work done by women and other factors were issues scrutinized and in some cases used to eliminate potential women candidates for aid. – Mary Beth | ||
'''Necessity''' Although the ideal way of life for a women in this time period was to be the "stay-at-home, reclusive mother," sometimes that's not the way life worked. As we talked about some on Tuesday, the situation the family was in determined whether or not a family could uphold that bourgeois ideal. The absence of a husband or the husband's job in and of itself sometimes did not provide enough income for the mother to be able to stay at home and make sure the kids got to school and were doing their homework and that the meal was on the table, etc. Sometimes it was necessary for the woman of the house to not only uphold that expectation, but also work outside the home and also contribute to the familial income. -Kelly W. | '''Necessity''' Although the ideal way of life for a women in this time period was to be the "stay-at-home, reclusive mother," sometimes that's not the way life worked. As we talked about some on Tuesday, the situation the family was in determined whether or not a family could uphold that bourgeois ideal. The absence of a husband or the husband's job in and of itself sometimes did not provide enough income for the mother to be able to stay at home and make sure the kids got to school and were doing their homework and that the meal was on the table, etc. Sometimes it was necessary for the woman of the house to not only uphold that expectation, but also work outside the home and also contribute to the familial income. -Kelly W. | ||
'''Class Domination''' Stansell makes it clear that Middle-class women who worked for social reform were as conscious about class as they were about religion. It was the duty of the rich to take care of and convert the poor. They deepened the gap between the classes as they were attempting to care for those less fortunate. It was evident that they saw themselves as more virtuous then those of the working classes and therefore they were given this "heavy burden"- similar to "the white man's burden" made famous by Kipling. The fact that they only accepted women of reputable background and those who could provide references as recipients of their care is a sign that they saw themselves as morally superior to those less fortunate as well as avoiding any scandel that could weaken their image as "virtuous middle-class." -- Celia | '''Class Domination''' Stansell makes it clear that Middle-class women who worked for social reform were as conscious about class as they were about religion. It was the duty of the rich to take care of and convert the poor. They deepened the gap between the classes as they were attempting to care for those less fortunate. It was evident that they saw themselves as more virtuous then those of the working classes and therefore they were given this "heavy burden"- similar to "the white man's burden" made famous by Kipling. The fact that they only accepted women of reputable background and those who could provide references as recipients of their care is a sign that they saw themselves as morally superior to those less fortunate as well as avoiding any scandel that could weaken their image as "virtuous middle-class." -- Celia | ||
