Michael B. Katz is the Sheldon and Lucy Hackney Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania and the
author of numerous books on social policy in America, including The Underserving Poor and Improving Poor People.
Review
"A rich historical summary of America's welfare heritage.... In the Shadow of the Poorhouse's greatest
strength is the wealth of historical detail and analysis that describes, and accounts for, the cheapest, most inadequate
welfare state in the Western world."
--Michael Harrington author of In These Times
"Must reading for anyone seriously interested in either the history or future of American welfare policy."
--Journal of Economic History
"Excellent.... A concise, tightly organized and exceptionally well-written history of American social policy."
--Robert Lekachman New Leader
Perseus Press Web Site, November, 2000
Summary
In this history, Katz explores the roots of our ambivalence toward welfare and the welfare state, revealing
the patterns which have recurred from era to era and which continue to frustrate reformers to this day. From the
poorhouse era to the New Deal, from the War on Poverty to the War on Welfare, Katz provides the long perspective
so often missing from the debates over "ending welfare as we know it." And this tenth anniversary edition
contains an expanded introduction and a new concluding chapter, bringing the story to the present and analyzing
the politics that lie behind the welfare reform act of 1996.
This controversial history of welfare in America argues that government must be the source of social progress.
Table of Contents
The Poorhouse Era
The Origins and Failure of the Poorhouse Poverty
Outdoor Relief
The Theory and Practice of Scientific Charity
The Transformation of the Poorhouse
Building The Semi-Welfare State
Saving Children
Reorganizing Cities
Reorganizing the Labor Market
Reorganizing the Nation
From The War On Poverty To The War On Welfare
The War on Poverty and the Expansion of Social Welfare
The War on Welfare
