The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institution
An eye-opener! Wagner carefully and judiciously combs through the data to give us a vivid picture of 19th century institutions for the care of the American poor. There is nothing quite like this, and American social welfare history will never be the same. (Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology, CUNY)David Wagner's extraordinary journey through the history of 'the poorhouse' in the United States is meticulously researched and brings alive, in eminently readable prose, the lives of those human beings who were both victims and overseers of this much-neglected part of American life. This is an important contribution to our social history. (Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States and professor emeritus of Political Science, Boston University)At a time in which the Social Security Act (1935) itself is under ideological assault, Wagner's informative book is required reading. (New England Quarterly)This impressively researched history of the poorhouse, a mainstay social welfare resource for 300 years in America, will fascinate and enlighten even a casual reader. (Journal Of Religion and Spirituality In Social Work)For a small volume, David Wagner'sThe Poorhouse: Ameica's Forgotten Institutionhas a hefty agenda. Over seven short chapters, Wagner sketches the story of the fabeled symbol of vulnerability and failure that for generations accumulated America's infirm, superannuated, and dipossessed while birthing specialized institutions for child wellfare, substance abuse treatment, and psychiatric, medical, and geriatric care. (Social Service Review)The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institutiontakes its place as a thought-provoking, well-researched volume that has no rival in the field. It will be the standard of reference for years to come. (Maine Sunday Telegram)The Poorhouseturns out to be a most appealing and timely book with much to say about contemporary socail policy. I tis highly recommended for undergraduate and graduate studuents in schools of social work, for social welfare and social policy historians, and for historicans of disability. (Journal of American History)Based on newspaper accounts, poorhouse records, oral history interviews, and local government records, Wagner provides and rich description of life in six New England poorhouses between the 1830s and the 1940s. (Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare)