Widows and Orphans First

S. J. Kleinberg is professor at Brunel University and author of The Shadow Of The Mills: Working-Class Families in Pittsburgh, 1870–1907 and Women in the United States, 1830-1945.

"Offer[s] a compelling and important corrective to existing literature that too often uncritically celebrates the achievements of Progressive Era reformers."--Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era  "Historians are aware of the race and class biases built into social welfare; much time has been spent analyzing the gendered nature of social provisions. Kleinberg is well versed in that literature and frequently links her account to the appropriate scholarship. Her original contribution here is to focus on one group of the so-called 'deserving poor' - widows - and examine the variety of social provisions affecting them over time."--Historian  "This examination of the widow's family economy in three comparative settings is immensely useful in understanding the variability of decentralized social welfare programs before federal entitlements. It deepens our understanding of the intersections between local economies and social welfare programs."--American Historical Review

• Contents Preface List of Tables Introduction 1. Widows: A Demographic and Economic Overview 2. Widows' Children and the Cult of True Childhood 3. The Transition from Charity to Widows' Pensions 4. The Implementation of Widows' Pensions 5. Widows and Orphans First? The New Deal and Its Legacy Notes