Description
Book SynopsisExamines an understudied dimension of women's history in the United States: how a group of affluent white women from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries advanced the status of all women through acts of philanthropy.
Trade ReviewJohnson makes a careful and persuasive case that a cluster of wives and daughters of major railroad, real estate, manufacturing, banking, and mining magnates used their inheritances to create opportunities for their 'sisters' in a sexist world." -
American Historical Review"Johnson's book is a strong reminder of the progress that women have made in the past 150 years, and I believe it will fuel awareness about the need for more women to give major gifts for gender equality today." - Kiersten Marek,
Philanthropy Women"Details both the successes attributed to the contributions of monied women and the challenges their philanthropy posed to the early women's movement, arguing that stark class differences bred resentment among women's organizations and undermined cross-class coalition." -
Choice"Highly readable and relevant for anyone interested in women's history, philanthropy, and social justice." -
Indiana Magazine of History"A remarkable book." -
Resources for Gender and Women's Studies"Shows us how the feminist movement actually achieved its goals, not how it should or might have. That is a service to all who want to understand culture change, and how it becomes real." -
Philanthropy"Offers an important and accessible. . . contribution to both academic and lay audiences interested in women's history in America, philanthropy, and indeed, select social change movements led by prominent women over the course of nearly 100 years." -
New York Journal of Books"Offers a worthy contribution not just to women's history but also to the history of capitalism." -
The Journal of Southern History"This compelling work of original and much-needed research [will] be of interest not only to those who study the history of feminist activism but to those with an interest in the power that private money wields in social justice circles." -
Library Journal starred review
"A riveting new vantage point on the fight for women's rights in the twentieth century. . . . The scope of Johnson's book is as generous as the narrative is nuanced and compelling." -
Reviews in American History
