AMERICAN CULTURAL THEMES AND SOCIAL WORK 293 equilibrium, which they along with other liberals dred""of New York society and the poor german see as necessary, has to be worked out, individual rag and bone collectors who made Murray Hill by individual and group by group, if it is not to be a noisome stench, or the slum dwellers whose imposed by a totalitarian state in the interests of living conditions and behavior gave rise to such thinking has been adopted by large secte way of street names as Poverty Lane and Murderers' public, can it be democratically enacted into law. riots of 1862. The cult of the average men had no In helping people to make the best of the present strong hold upon many occupants of upper class age, social workers might claim that they were position. Their relation to the underdog was not preparing the way for the"new world a-comin' one of sympathetic identification but rather, on the As has been pointed out before, one of the con- one hand, of using him to indicate their own tributions of social work to the changing American superior status and to buttress its foundations and culture may be through the redefining of what on the other, of appeasing him when he growled constitutes success. In some cases increased earning too loudly and ominously. power results for the client from the social-work Opposed to these upper class ways of thinking process, but usually the chief gains are not such as there was always the belief that the average man can be measured in dollars and cents. The divorce was the chief treasure of the state. Beginning with of the concept of romantic individualism from the the decade of depression following the panic of defensive aggressiveness of the market place might 1837, there was also a clear realization on the par bring it into closer accord with present day of many intelligent citizens that business cycles realities. Since non-material satisfactions are not were responsible for more poverty than the charac subject to the economic laws of scarcity, social ter defects of the working class. While nineteenth work may aid in establishing our cherished ideol- century philanthropists fought bitterly against ogy on a surer foundation. Aspirations for in- the idea that any man had a right to relief, espe dividual growth in understanding and insight and ally from tblic treasury, capacity for the appreciation of the simple joys of categories of need nevertheless gained ground g are possible of satisfaction even without an There was less resistance to the practice of pro- living unlimited bank account. Not only are such gains viding through private beneficence many of the not secured at the expense of the "other fellow, amenities of life for those isolated from the main they are in general obtained more easily and in stream of American culture through ignorance larger measure by persons as members of groups. and poverty In other words, modern Americans apparently are Over and over again in our national develop- faced with the necessity of giving up either their ment, reforms have been tried out first on the poor romance or their individualism. Social workers and then passed on to the wealthy. Kindergartens urge their clients to value the possibility of hope and nursery schools, playgrounds and summer fulfilled more highly than the unrealistic belief in camps, manual training and child guidance were the rugged aloneness of their endeavor. made available to slum children long before they were common among the well-to-do. The initial The charity of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and push for the establishment of Massachusetts nineteenth centuries, out of which socia General Hospital was given by the chaplain of the Boston almshouse. Medical social work was the aristocratic society of the eastern seaboard than first provided for middle-class patients, but not in the frontier democracy of the Old and Ney West. The principle of less eligibility was in time had enjoyed such service. The social settlement evolved to define the position of "objects of was only one of the overt expressions of the cult charity"as below the poorest of independent of the workmen. By the middle of the nineteenth century ocial work counters the compulsion to conform there was a genuine fear of the"dangerous classes" to the standards of one s own social lieu. More s a threat to the vested interests of power and accurately it broadens the world of its clients, privilege a The wide gulf between the"five hun- establishing contacts with a wider range of class 12 See, for example, Charles Loring Brace, The Dan- orientations and a greater variety of specialized gerous Classes in New York(New York, 1880) subcultures, than the ordinary person can attainAMERICAN CULTURAL THEMES AND SOCIAL WORK 293 equilibrium, which they along with other liberals see as necessary, has to be worked out, individual by individual and group by group, if it is not to be imposed by a totalitarian state in the interests of a powerful bureaucracy. Only when a new way of thinking has been adopted by large sections of the public, can it be democratically enacted into law. In helping people to make the best of the present age, social workers might claim that they were preparing the way for the "new world a-comin'." As has been pointed out before, one of the con￾tributions of social work to the changing American culture may be through the redefining of what constitutes success. In some cases increased earning power results for the client from the social-work process, but usually the chief gains are not such as can be measured in dollars and cents. The divorce of the concept of romantic individualism from the defensive aggressiveness of the market place might bring it into closer accord with present day realities. Since non-material satisfactions are not subject to the economic laws of scarcity, social work may aid in establishing our cherished ideol￾ogy on a surer foundation. Aspirations for in￾dividual growth in understanding and insight and capacity for the appreciation of the simple joys of living are possible of satisfaction even without an unlimited bank account. Not only are such gains not secured at the expense of the "other fellow," they are in general obtained more easily and in larger measure by persons as members of groups. In other words, modern Americans apparently are faced with the necessity of giving up either their romance or their individualism. Social workers urge their clients to value the possibility of hope fulfilled more highly than the unrealistic belief in the rugged aloneness of their endeavor. CULT OF THE AVERAGE MAN The charity of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, out of which social work developed, found a more congenial setting in the aristocratic society of the eastern seaboard than in the frontier democracy of the Old and New West. The principle of less eligibility was in time evolved to define the position of "objects of charity" as below the poorest of independent workmen. By the middle of the nineteenth century, there was a genuine fear of the "dangerous classes" as a threat to the vested interests of power and Drivilege.12 The wide gulf between the "five hun￾dred" of New York society and the poor German rag and bone collectors who made Murray Hill a noisome stench, or the slum dwellers whose living conditions and behavior gave rise to such street names as Poverty Lane and Murderers' Alley, was thrown into vivid relief by the draft riots of 1862. The cult of the average men had no strong hold upon many occupants of upper class position. Their relation to the underdog was not one of sympathetic identification but rather, on the one hand, of using him to indicate their own superior status and to buttress its foundations and, on the other, of appeasing him when he growled too loudly and ominously. Opposed to these upper class ways of thinking, there was always the belief that the average man was the chief treasure of the state. Beginning with the decade of depression following the panic of 1837, there was also a clear realization on the part of many intelligent citizens that business cycles were responsible for more poverty than the charac￾ter defects of the working class. XVhile nineteenth century philanthropists fought bitterly against the idea that any man had a right to relief, especi￾ally from the public treasury, state care for many categories of need nevertheless gained ground. There was less resistance to the practice of pro￾viding through private beneficence many of the amenities of life for those isolated from the main stream of American culture through ignorance and poverty. Over and over again in our national develop￾ment, reforms have been tried out first oni the poor and then passed on to the wealthy. Kindergartens and nursery schools, playgrounds and summer camps, manual training and child guidance were made available to slum children long before they were common among the well-to-do. The initial push for the establishment of Massachusetts General Hospital was given by the chaplain of the Boston almshouse. Medical social work was there first provided for middle-class patients, but not until a quarter of a century after the charity wards had enjoyed such service. The social settlement was only one of the overt expressions of the cult of the average man. Social work counters the compulsion to conform to the standards of one's own social milieu. More accurately it broadens the world of its clients, establishing contacts with a wider range of class orientations and a greater variety of specialized subcultures, than the ordinary person can attain 12 See, for example, Charles Loring Brace, Thie Dan￾gerous Classes in New York (New York, 1880)