New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor
Encyclopedia
The Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (AICP) was a charitable organization in New York City
, established in 1843 and incorporated in 1848 with the aim of helping the deserving poor and providing for their moral uplift. The Association was one of the most active and innovative charity organizations in New York, pioneering many private-public partnerships in education, healthcare and social services.
and the depression which followed. It pre-dated other well-known charitable organizations such as the Children's Aid Society
, founded in 1854, the State Charities Aid Association (1872) and the Charity Organization Society
(1884). The directors of the new charity, made up of some of the city's richest people, believed that the existence of the city's apparently permanent indigent population was not due to economic conditions or adversity, but instead could be best explained by some fault in the poor themselves, which the AICP was determined to fix. The organization was consistently opposed to "gratuitous charity", meaning charity efforts which were not tied to moral reformation, such as free soup kitchens and missions which provided shelter to all without regard to their character. It particularly disdained governmental efforts to alleviate the plight of the poor, as opposed the work of private agencies such as itself, although it was convinced to accept large amounts of money from the city after 1876, as one of the favored organizations chosen as a conduit for governmental largesse.
Robert Milham Hartley, formerly secretary of the New-York City Temperance Society for 10 years, was chosen as the AICP's first executive secretary. Hartley, using the teachings of Thomas Chalmers
, Joseph Tuckerman, and French philanthropist Joseph Marie, Baron de Gerando
, played a key role in establishing the Association, and was instrumental in demonstrating a connection between overcrowding and unsanitary conditions and mortality. By the early 1850s, the AICP was the most influential charity in New York, and its program was soon imitated in many other American cities. The association stressed character building as a way to end poverty, and took steps to insure that only the "deserving" poor received charity: idlers, malingerers and vagrants were to be sent to workhouses to do hard labor, while the depraved and debased were to be locked up in penitentiaries was a warning to others nto to follow their path. Volunteers, usually middle-class Protestant laypersons, worked to get poor people to abstain from alcohol, become more self-disciplined, and acquire the work ethic. At first, the Association employed only male "visitors", but after Hartley's retirement in 1876, it became the first charitable organization to use women for this task as well, beginning in 1879.
The AICP's program to aid New York's indigent children was similar in design to its program for adults: they were characterized by type, and each child was detailed to an appropriate venue – reformatories, school, and placement in good homes – depending on their moral character. The organization was instrumental in putting truancy laws in place to effect this program, empowering the police and other agencies to arrest or detain vagrant children between the ages of five and fourteen for evaluation and placement.
As part of its advocacy of sanitary reform, a later initiative of the Association was the construction of public baths in 1852, 1892 and in 1904, when Elizabeth Milbank Anderson
donated funds for the Milbank Memorial Bath on 38th Street. The organization championed the Metropolitan Health Act of 1866 and other legislation which promoted a new sanitary regime in the city, and joined with other reformers in advocating a large park to become the "lungs" of the city, an effort with eventually culminated in the creation of Central Park
.
The AICP also sponsored the Working Men's Home for African-American men in 1855, one of the first model tenement
s in the United States, which was, however, an unsuccessful experiment which did not attract private investors to build more buildings along the same lines. Eventually, after 12 years of losing money, the Home was sold to become a residence for working women.
In 1893, the AICP was one of a number of charitable organizations to move their headquarters to the United Charities Building
on Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South) and 22nd Street, which was built specifically by banker John S. Kennedy to house the Charity Organization Society
and other like-minded organizations, to whom Kennedy turned over ownership of the building. From this time on, the AICP merged with the COS in all but name, and in 1939, the two organizations formally combined to form the Community Service Society of New York
.
Leading social workers who acquired their early training at the AICP included John A. Kingsbury, later on the Commission of Public Charities (1914–1917) and Harry L. Hopkins the future director of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
's Works Progress Administration
, part of the New Deal
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, established in 1843 and incorporated in 1848 with the aim of helping the deserving poor and providing for their moral uplift. The Association was one of the most active and innovative charity organizations in New York, pioneering many private-public partnerships in education, healthcare and social services.
History and programs
The AICP was established in 1843 as an offshoot of the New York City Mission Society due to the stress put on that organization's charitable activities as a result of the Panic of 1837Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
and the depression which followed. It pre-dated other well-known charitable organizations such as the Children's Aid Society
Children's Aid Society
__notoc__The Children’s Aid Society is a private charitable organization based in New York City. It serves 150,000 children per year, providing foster care, medical and mental health services, and a wide range of educational, recreational and advocacy services through dozens of community centers,...
, founded in 1854, the State Charities Aid Association (1872) and the Charity Organization Society
Charity Organization Society
The Charity Organization Societies also called the Associated Charities was a private charity that existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a clearing house for information on the poor. The society was mainly concerned with distinction between the deserving poor and undeserving poor...
(1884). The directors of the new charity, made up of some of the city's richest people, believed that the existence of the city's apparently permanent indigent population was not due to economic conditions or adversity, but instead could be best explained by some fault in the poor themselves, which the AICP was determined to fix. The organization was consistently opposed to "gratuitous charity", meaning charity efforts which were not tied to moral reformation, such as free soup kitchens and missions which provided shelter to all without regard to their character. It particularly disdained governmental efforts to alleviate the plight of the poor, as opposed the work of private agencies such as itself, although it was convinced to accept large amounts of money from the city after 1876, as one of the favored organizations chosen as a conduit for governmental largesse.
Robert Milham Hartley, formerly secretary of the New-York City Temperance Society for 10 years, was chosen as the AICP's first executive secretary. Hartley, using the teachings of Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers
Thomas Chalmers , Scottish mathematician, political economist, divine and a leader of the Free Church of Scotland, was born at Anstruther in Fife.-Overview:...
, Joseph Tuckerman, and French philanthropist Joseph Marie, Baron de Gerando
Joseph Marie, baron de Gérando
Joseph Marie, baron de Gérando, born Joseph Marie Degérando was a French jurist, philanthropist and philosopher of Italian descent....
, played a key role in establishing the Association, and was instrumental in demonstrating a connection between overcrowding and unsanitary conditions and mortality. By the early 1850s, the AICP was the most influential charity in New York, and its program was soon imitated in many other American cities. The association stressed character building as a way to end poverty, and took steps to insure that only the "deserving" poor received charity: idlers, malingerers and vagrants were to be sent to workhouses to do hard labor, while the depraved and debased were to be locked up in penitentiaries was a warning to others nto to follow their path. Volunteers, usually middle-class Protestant laypersons, worked to get poor people to abstain from alcohol, become more self-disciplined, and acquire the work ethic. At first, the Association employed only male "visitors", but after Hartley's retirement in 1876, it became the first charitable organization to use women for this task as well, beginning in 1879.
The AICP's program to aid New York's indigent children was similar in design to its program for adults: they were characterized by type, and each child was detailed to an appropriate venue – reformatories, school, and placement in good homes – depending on their moral character. The organization was instrumental in putting truancy laws in place to effect this program, empowering the police and other agencies to arrest or detain vagrant children between the ages of five and fourteen for evaluation and placement.
As part of its advocacy of sanitary reform, a later initiative of the Association was the construction of public baths in 1852, 1892 and in 1904, when Elizabeth Milbank Anderson
Elizabeth Milbank Anderson
Elizabeth Milbank Anderson , philanthropist and advocate for public health and women's education, was the daughter of Jeremiah Milbank , a successful commission merchant, manufacturer and investor, and Elizabeth Lake...
donated funds for the Milbank Memorial Bath on 38th Street. The organization championed the Metropolitan Health Act of 1866 and other legislation which promoted a new sanitary regime in the city, and joined with other reformers in advocating a large park to become the "lungs" of the city, an effort with eventually culminated in the creation of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
.
The AICP also sponsored the Working Men's Home for African-American men in 1855, one of the first model tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
s in the United States, which was, however, an unsuccessful experiment which did not attract private investors to build more buildings along the same lines. Eventually, after 12 years of losing money, the Home was sold to become a residence for working women.
In 1893, the AICP was one of a number of charitable organizations to move their headquarters to the United Charities Building
United Charities Building
The United Charities Building, also known as United Charities Building Complex, at 105 East 22nd Street or 287 Park Avenue South, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, near the border of the Flatiron District, was built in 1893 by John S...
on Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue South) and 22nd Street, which was built specifically by banker John S. Kennedy to house the Charity Organization Society
Charity Organization Society
The Charity Organization Societies also called the Associated Charities was a private charity that existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a clearing house for information on the poor. The society was mainly concerned with distinction between the deserving poor and undeserving poor...
and other like-minded organizations, to whom Kennedy turned over ownership of the building. From this time on, the AICP merged with the COS in all but name, and in 1939, the two organizations formally combined to form the Community Service Society of New York
Community Service Society of New York
The Community Service Society of New York is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1939. Originally formed as a charity providing direct assistance to the poor, its mission has evolved include research and advocacy as well as legal and informational support services for other...
.
Leading social workers who acquired their early training at the AICP included John A. Kingsbury, later on the Commission of Public Charities (1914–1917) and Harry L. Hopkins the future director of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, part of the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
.
External links
- Official website of the Community Service Society of New YorkCommunity Service Society of New YorkThe Community Service Society of New York is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1939. Originally formed as a charity providing direct assistance to the poor, its mission has evolved include research and advocacy as well as legal and informational support services for other...
, successor to the AICP