Benevolence Among Slaveholders: Assisting the Poor in Charleston 1670-1860

Examines the approach to poverty and poor relief in Charleston, Virginia, from its founding to the eve of the Civil War. Notes that the programs, such as free-rations, poor houses, and orphanages though similar to those in northern cities were isolated from the mainstream organizations and movements because of the tradition of slavery; and were based on the inevitability of suffering, rather than on the Puritan notion that reforming the poor would end poverty. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.