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Article: American Creed: Philanthropy and the Rise of Civil Society, 1700-1865.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Journal of Southern History
- Article date:
- November 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Southern Historical Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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American Creed: Philanthropy and the Rise of Civil Society, 1700-1865. By Kathleen D. McCarthy. (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, c. 2003. Pp. xii, 319. $35.00, ISBN 0-226-56198-4.)
American Creed strikes me as a history growing out of the preoccupations of our time. In a dangerous world, we worry about whether democracy may be learned abroad and how it can be preserved at home. The phrase "civil society" of Kathleen D. McCarthy's title connotes not simply the public sphere but civility, the nearly magical blend of self-expression and restraint permitting orderly freedom. McCarthy finds the roots of this national temperament in philanthropy, ...