Introduction: Poverty "in a land flowing with milk and honey." Poor relief in early America ; The growing problem of poverty and its victims ; Religious reform and moral benevolence ; Public responsibility for the poor ; Structural solutions for poverty ; The legacy of welfare reform ; A note about the text
The documents. Elite perceptions of poverty as a moral and social crisis ; Private benevolence and moral cures for poverty ; Public institutions ; Structural explanations and cures for poverty
