David Michael Greenspoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dissertation, “Children’s Mite: Juvenile Philanthropy in America,1815-1865,” examines

juvenile benevolence in early nineteenth century America to better explain how the northern

 middle class – especially Christian activists among them – negotiated the burgeoning

 capitalist economy, and the place of children within it. Reformers encouraged children to

 Act  as  producers, sellers, and consumers when it benefited their cause.  I argue that as

 leading reformers who espoused middle class values, as well as members of the middle

 class,  taught children virtuous ways to use their money, they immersed girls and boys in

 the world of  finance, and thus legitimized juvenile participation in a capitalist economy.

 

I argue that the then-newly popularized middle class ideal of a sheltered, innocent

childhood removed from the marketplace, represented, at least in part, an ideological

construct. Furthermore, my dissertation sheds light on the complex relationships among

 nineteenth century philanthropy, religion, and a burgeoning consumer economy. My

 findings also add to our understanding of the rise  of juvenile consumerism in the

nineteenth century, a significant field of study given the importance of  conspicuous

consumption to current-day childhood, as well as the role of children’s merchandise

 in the modern day economy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David presenting his work at the annual Penn State graduate exhibition.