| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 91.3

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 91.3 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

This Business of Relief: Confronting Poverty in a Southern City, 1740–1940. By Elna C. Green. (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2003. xvi, 356 pp. Cloth, $54.95, ISBN 0-8203-2451-5. Paper, $22.95, ISBN 0-8203-2552-X.)
In many studies of social welfare history, the South appears little more than an anomaly. Often, historians completely ignore southern efforts or characterize them as stillborn due to the power of plantation culture. As Elna C. Green demonstrates, from 1740 to 1940, Richmond, Virginia, provided support for its poor citizens in ways that both mirrored its northern urban counterparts and reflected its southern heritage.	1
Significantly, Green argues that support for the poor always existed in Richmond. From its first use of poor laws for impoverished residents through the establishment of the poorhouse and outdoor relief, Richmond maintained a commitment to providing for its needy. Public relief came first in the city; private organizations arose out of a desire to supply care to specific groups or to impart the supervision supposedly missing in public allotments. As Green explains, the balance between the two sources changed continuously over the centuries. When depressions or recessions hit, public support assumed a central role. At other times, private organizations and their members were more able to dictate policy. Nonetheless, Richmond viewed the welfare of the poor as an important part of its governance and devoted a considerable part of its budget to the care of the needy.	. . .

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