56. The Role of Voluntarism & Volunteerism in America with Elisabeth Clemens
Volunteer Nation
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The Origins of Civic Engagement in the Republic
There were voluntary groups often associated with religious organizations by the 18th century start having fraternal organizations such as the Masons. The key moment is really the Civil War when these sort of local and specific kinds of groups get harnessed into a national effort to raise funds for the Army. John Stuart Mill writes a letter in saying, wow, you've done something really novel here. And then once that script is there, it gets used again and again and again. Mass employment, bring out the script, another war, then a natural disaster, which leads to this distinctively American model of the Red Cross where hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. become moments where you get the model revived.
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