Daughters of the Declaration: How Women Social Entrepreneurs Built the American Dream

Daughters of the Declaration: How Women Social Entrepreneurs Built the American Dream

Claire Gaudiani

Language: English

Pages: 352

ISBN: 1610390318

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


America’s founding fathers established an idealistic framework for a bold experiment in democratic governance. The new nation would be built on the belief that “all men are created equal, and are endowed...with a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The challenge of turning these ideals into reality for all citizens was taken up by a set of exceptional American women.

Distinguished scholar and civic leader Claire Gaudiani calls these women “social entrepreneurs,” arguing that they brought the same drive and strategic intent to their pursuit of “the greater good” that their male counterparts applied to building the nation's capital markets throughout the nineteenth century. Gaudiani tells the stories of these patriotic women, and their creation of America's unique not-for-profit, or “social profit” sector. She concludes that the idealism and optimism inherent in this work provided an important asset to the increasing prosperity of the nation from its founding to the Second World War. Social entrepreneurs have defined a system of governance “by the people,” and they remain our best hope for continued moral leadership in the world.

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To the leadership of mutuality in the nation. They had proven remarkably adept at utilizing the tools of influence and public opinion—petitions, lobbying efforts, fund-raising, media campaigns, consumer boycotts, civil disobedience, muckraking, coalition building, appeals to patriotism and to the love of God—in their pursuit of social profit. The system that they invented in pursuit of social profit is remarkably creative, given the social and financial constraints faced by women in the period.

Democracies. Candy Lightner’s Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has succeeded in the past three decades in passing over 3,000 state and federal laws criminalizing drunk driving. Today, social profit law firms fight the death penalty and work to reexamine cold cases where evidence suggests imprisoned people may deserve exoneration. The legacy of our women social entrepreneurs is alive and well. The partner of moral ambition is the spirit of social entrepreneurship, another of the legacy gifts.

Industrial education. The association prepared instruction manuals devoted to Huntington’s methodology, sponsored teacher preparation classes, and offered dozens of direct teaching programs. The New York Times reported in April 1881 that over 2,000 young people from different social classes were enrolled in the KGA in New York City alone. Eventually, the KGA became a worldwide movement, with chapters in India and England, and the professional teaching of “industrial arts” was launched. Dodge.

Modest homes.13 So the Founders’ debates were certainly influenced by the need for a government that would advance private enterprise. Self-interest proved to be a powerful force in motivating colonial entrepreneurs and building the first cycles of prosperity. But by 1776, the challenge was to devise a form of government that honored this powerful individualism while preserving the tradition of mutuality. The accumulation of wealth, as positive as it might be, always harbored the danger of.

Leadership. She convened a “joint committee” that met daily for ten months, with Grace presiding at every session. Her self-discipline and thoroughness had not varied from her time on the New York City Board of Education. In a letter written as the deliberations got under way, Dodge cited her lengthy experience with young women and noted that “from all these friends, I have learned a great deal.” She also expressed her personal belief that “the spiritual life of young women needs to be more.

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