The sympathetic state : disaster relief and the origins of the American welfare state

Even As Unemployment Rates Soared During The Great Depression, Fdr's Relief And Social Security Programs Faced Attacks In Congress And The Courts On The Legitimacy Of Federal Aid To The Growing Population Of Poor. In Response, New Dealers Pointed To A Long Tradition - Dating Back To 1790 And Now Largely Forgotten - Of Federal Aid To Victims Of Disaster. In The Sympathetic State, Michele Landis Dauber Recovers This Crucial Aspect Of American History, Tracing The Roots Of The Modern American Welfare State Beyond The New Deal And The Progressive Era Back To The Earliest Days Of The Republic When Relief Was Forthcoming For The Victims Of Wars, Fires, Floods, Hurricanes, And Earthquakes. Drawing On A Variety Of Materials, Including Newspapers, Legal Briefs, Political Speeches, The Art And Literature Of The Time, And Letters From Thousands Of Ordinary Americans, Dauber Shows That While This Long History Of Government Disaster Relief Has Faded From Our Memory Today, It Was Extremely Well Known To Advocates For An Expanded Role For The National Government In The 1930s, Including The Social Security Act. Making This Connection Required Framing The Great Depression As A Disaster Afflicting Citizens Though No Fault Of Their Own. Dauber Argues That The Disaster Paradigm, Though Successful In Defending The New Deal, Would Ultimately Come Back To Haunt Advocates For Social Welfare. By Not Making A More Radical Case For Relief, Proponents Of The New Deal Helped Create The Weak, Uniquely American Welfare State We Have Today - One Torn Between The Desire To Come To The Aid Of Those Suffering And The Deeply Rooted Suspicion That Those In Need Are Responsible For Their Own Deprivation. Contrary To Conventional Thought, The History Of Federal Disaster Relief Is One Of Remarkable Consistency, Despite Significant Political And Ideological Change. Dauber's Pathbreaking And Highly Readable Book Uncovers The Historical Origins Of The Modern American Welfare State. -- Publisher's Website. Disaster Relief And The Welfare State -- Building The Sympathetic State -- Innovations -- The Spreading Delta -- Crafting The Depression -- The Bomb-proof Power -- The Well-beaten Path -- We Lost Our All -- Living In A Sympathetic State. Michele Landis Dauber. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The Trobriand Islands Of Papua New Guinea Have Been Depicted As A Place Of Sexual Freedom Ever Since These Small Atolls In The Southwest Pacific Were Made Famous By Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski In The Early Twentieth Century. Today In The Era Of The Hiv/aids Pandemic, How Do Trobrianders Respond To Public Health Interventions That Link Their Cultural Practices To The Risk Of Hiv? How Do They Weigh Hiv Prevention Messages Of Abstinence, Fidelity, And Condom Use Against Traditional Sexual Practices That Strengthen Interclan Relationships In A Gift Economy? Written By An Anthropologist Who Has Direct Ties To The Trobriands Through Marriage And Who Has Been Involved In Papua New Guinea's National Response To The Hiv Epidemic Since The Mid-1990s, Islands Of Love, Islands Of Risk Is An Unusual Insider Ethnography. Katherine Lepani Describes In Vivid Detail The Cultural Practices Of Regeneration, From The Traditional Dance Called Wosimwaya To The Elaborate Exchanges That Are Part Of The Mortuary Feasts Called Sagali. Focusing On The Sexual Freedom Of Young People, The Author Reveals The Social Value Of Sexual Practice. By Bringing Cultural Context And Lived Experience To The Fore, The Book Addresses The Failure Of Standardized Public Health Programs To Bridge The Persistent Gap Between Hiv Awareness And Prevention. The Book Offers Insights On The Interplay Between Global And Local Understandings Of Gender, Sexuality, And Disease And Suggests The Possibility Of Viewing Sexuality In Terms Other Than Risk. Islands Of Love, Islands Of Risk Illustrates The Contribution Of Ethnographic Research Methodology In Facilitating Dialogue Between Different Ways Of Knowing. As A Contemporary Perspective On Malinowski's Classic Accounts Of Trobriand Sexuality, The Book Reaffirms The Trobriands' Central Place In The Study Of Anthropology. This Book Is The Recipient Of The Annual Norman L. And Roselea J. Goldberg Prize For The Best Project In The Area Of Medicine-- Models Of Meaning And Ways Of Knowing -- In The Process Of Knowing -- Connections To Place -- Because We Can! : Gendered Agency And Social Reproduction -- Youth Sexuality : Making Desires Known -- Converging Meanings -- Fitting Condoms On Culture. Katherine Lepani. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 207-232) And Index. Even as unemployment rates soared during the Great Depression, FDR's relief and social security programmes faced attacks in Congress and the courts on the legitimacy of federal aid to the growing population of poor. In response, New Dealers pointed to a long tradition - dating back to 1790 and now largely forgotten - of federal aid to victims of disaster. In 'The Sympathetic State', Michele Landis Dauber recovers this crucial aspect of American history, tracing the roots of the modern American welfare state beyond the New Deal and the Progressive Era back to the earliest days of the republic when relief was forthcoming for the victims of wars, fires, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes