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The Fundamental Institution: Poverty, Social Welfare, and Agriculture in American Poor Farms

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By the early 1900s, the poor farm had become a ubiquitous part of America's social welfare system. Megan Birk's history of this foundational but forgotten institution focuses on the connection between agriculture, provisions for the disadvantaged, and the daily realities of life at poor farms. Conceived as an inexpensive way to provide care for the indigent, poor farms in fact attracted wards that ranged from abused wives and the elderly to orphans, the disabled, and disaster victims. Most people arrived unable rather than unwilling to work, some because of physical problems, others due to a lack of skills or because a changing labor market had left them behind. Birk blends the personal stories of participants with institutional histories to reveal a loose-knit system that provided a measure of care to everyone without an overarching philosophy of reform or rehabilitation.

In-depth and innovative, The Fundamental Institution offers an overdue portrait of rural social welfare in the United States.

Author(s): Megan Birk
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Year: 2022

Language: English
Pages: 300
City: Urbana

Cover
TItle
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Founding of Community Institutions
2. Populations and Conditions
3. Farming for the County
4. Poor Farm Women
5. The Poor Farm and Mental Health Care
6. Old Age and Poor Farm Residency
7. Poor Farms and Health Care
8. Crisis and Transition
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Back cover