Fraternal Rhetoric and the Development of the U.S. Welfare State

Abstract

In the decades surrounding the turn of the twentieth century, mutual benefit societies were thriving voluntary organizations that touched the vast majority of working-class American households. Not only were they politically powerful as institutional actors, but more importantly, they were highly influential in providing their members with the ability to conceive of mutual assistance in a manner other than through the traditional lens of liberalism. Contrary to what may be considered the prevailing wisdom, my research reveals that whether they intended to or not, these organizations taught lessons that gave their members a coherent justification for supporting the emerging welfare state. There is also a methodological lesson, which is that membership organizations must be understood for their indirect social impact as much as their direct political one.