The decades of the Antebellum Period, which extended from 1790 to 1860, marked a time in history filled with progression, growth, and contradiction. As the economy fluctuated, as immigrants flowed into the states, and as illness and disease spread across the nation, American society surely possessed its share of problems. While some Americans experienced wealth, success, and prosperity during these times, other less fortunate individuals suffered from the harshness of society and the inconsistency of the economy. As a result, a good portion of the population, facing a plethora of surmounting struggles, found themselves in a desperate time of need. Thus the Antebellum decades may also mark a period of discovery, sympathy, and attempted unification, as the goodness of society strived to assist such helpless individuals. Although the Antebellum Period can be credited as a time of many successes, it also represents a time of significant need- a time that sparked a sense of charity, volunteerism, and hospitality throughout the nation.

The “needy” in Antebellum America included a rather broad classification of individuals. Most prominent among these groups were the poor, women, children, the mentally ill, and the physically ill. However, more so than any other group, the poor seemed to reside most predominantly at the brunt of society. At the time, “poverty was a serious and growing problem.”1 Due to the fluctuating economy, widespread business failure presented numerous financial problems to Americans.2 Thus during these years, bankruptcy gradually became a social, cultural, and political problem of great intensity and commonality (Balleisen, p. 5). For most people, work remained unsteady and seasonal, and wages were outrageously low (Katz, p. 6). As a result, many families dropped into poverty, and in order to obtain as much income as possible, required every family member to work (Katz, p. 6). In addition to the instability that existed in the workplace, the country also faced a number of financial panics and depressions during this time, sending the already poor and bankrupt even further into debt and misery. Antebellum America “experienced four great panics- in 1819, 1837, 1839, and 1857,” as well as several periods of sustained commercial depression (Balleisen, p. 32, 33). Such circumstances caused many Americans to remain anxious and weary in regards to financial situations, as the risk for unemployment and bankruptcy remained high on a daily basis. As one individual stated of the jobless and the poor in America:

“The laborer without work lives in present haunted by “ungratified wants, daily disappointments, perpetual mortifications, and increasing anxieties,” facing a future “full of terror for himself and his children.” This desperate man searches almost in vain for a sense of self-worth as “the rich treat him as a criminal, the poor as a rival, his country as a burden on his prosperity- and the multitude, as an insignificant being, who has no feelings, no rights.”3

Women also faced many struggles throughout the Antebellum Period. In fact, “in all facets of life among the poor, women emerge as those most often beaten, battered, and broken by poverty” (Bellows, p. 88). Opportunities for success in the market scarcely existed for women, and their wages were generally much lower than that of the already insufficient wages that men received (Bellows, p. 88). In addition, many women with children were left widowed, abandoned, or without their husbands for months or years at a time, thus leaving them with few alternatives to receive income short of entering prostitution or domestic service (Bellows, p. 92). In an attempt to find some sense of security for their children, many women would marry precipitously, ultimately multiplying their own misery and falling “into a web of poverty they could not escape” (Bellows, 93).

Children suffered greatly throughout the Antebellum decades as well. Unmarried, poor women who were shameful of their inability to feed another child (or who simply did not want to bother with their infants) often left their children on doorsteps and stoops in the shadows of the night (Bellows, 81). In turn, these abandoned babies instantly became homeless and orphaned children. From the beginning, they were never given a fair chance at life, success, or prosperity. Other children, who were privileged enough to have a family willing to keep them, were not much better off than those left abandoned. At appallingly young ages, many of these children were forced to find jobs and employment in order to advance the collective welfare of their families (Katz, p. 136). As a result, the majority of these children were denied a chance at schooling and an education, as they spent their days performing laborious work.

The mentally ill and intellectually challenged were yet another group vying for help at this time, as they “were generally treated like criminals or stigmatized as insane” throughout this period.4 At a time when the retarded were not medically understood, they remained far from social approval. Professionals ignorantly used the terms “idiots,” “imbeciles,” and “feeble-minded” to describe and classify such individuals.5 In addition, it was widely believed that these “idiots had no mind and could not profit from an education” (Bell and Tyor, p. 25). Such mentally challenged individuals were feared, often times imprisoned, and frequently suffered unbearable tortures which were originally prescribed as cures or treatments (Volo and Volo, p. 185).

The physically ill also suffered greatly at this time. While the medical profession in the Antebellum Period thought itself as “knowledgeable and humanitarian,” its practitioners were neither “selective in their methods nor well regulated by their fellows” (Volo and Volo, p. 185). In many cases, the medicines that doctors prescribed were just as likely to kill as they were to cure their patients (Volo and Volo, p. 185). Unfortunately, this lack of medical knowledge came at a time when the majority of the nation was often very sick. Largely due to the influx of immigrants, epidemics regularly hit coastal towns and cities (Bellows, p. 82). Diseases such as yellow fever, smallpox, cholera, typhoid, and syphilis plagued the country (Bellows, p. 82). In addition to such deadly illnesses and poor medical care, work was usually dangerous and unhealthy, diets were typically inadequate, and most cities were dreadfully unsanitary (Katz, p. 9). Death rates skyrocketed, and the need for extensive medical knowledge and adequate health care continued to increase.

As a result of the widespread suffering and prominent tribulations facing much of the American population, it became eminent during the Antebellum Period that significant action needed to be taken to assist those in need. Such pressing circumstances spawned a series of reform movements, what some individuals referred to as a period of “isms” (abolitionism, alcoholism, feminism, republicanism, etc.) (Volo and Volo, p. 249-250). A large majority of these reforms were characterized by “the urge to remedy visible social ills, alleviate suffering, and discourage behavior that was considered immoral” (Volo and Volo, p. 250). More specifically, philanthropic reforms aimed almost exclusively to restore the visibly degraded elements of society, such as the current status of many of the groups mentioned above (for example, paupers, drunkards, orphans, illiterates, prostitutes, and prisoners) (Volo and Volo, p. 250). In addition to such governmental and societal reforms, the struggles of the Antebellum Period also sparked “reform causes of revivalist antebellum Christianity” (Balleisen, p. 7). Although times were tough for many groups across the nation, it seemed that the government, the churches, and the wealthier divisions of the population had finally acknowledged the desperate need for reform and had taken on a new attitude toward those in need. There seemed to be a desire to help, and underlying all reform efforts was “the perfectionist faith….that there was no limit to the improvement of humanity, and no barrier that could not be overcome with the proper application of faith, hard work, and knowledge” (Bell and Tyor, p. 15). Consequently, great strides were made at this time in the realms of charity, volunteerism, and hospitality.

The government, churches, and wealthier divisions of society worked both together and independent of one another to assist those in need. One of the most common and widespread charitable establishments of the Antebellum Period was that of the poorhouse and the almshouse. Nearly every county, city, and town, whether urban or rural, had its poorhouse. Such houses were considered places of refuge for society’s poor, medically sick, and mentally ill patients, regardless of age or gender.6 The majority of the individuals found in the poorhouses at this time generally suffered from the tangled afflictions of poverty, alcoholism, and disease (Bellows, p. 84). In addition, many “insane” immigrants resorted to the shelter of the poorhouses, where doctors and volunteers did their very best to aid the masses that entered their doors. Although the poorhouses were often overcrowded, diseased, and poorly funded, they provided a haven for all sorts of struggling individuals that had no hope for the present, or for the future.

Orphanages also became much more common throughout the Antebellum decades as more and more children were left abandoned without families or homes. The Charleston Orphan House was one of the most successful and well-known of its kind. Designed as an “institution of national virtue,” it housed hundreds of homeless children and represented the patriotic, as well as the charitable side, of its town (Bellows, p. 121). With time, such institutions increased dramatically in number and in size throughout the nation (Katz, p. 123). Due to the success of the orphanages and the positive vibe that they generally emitted to the public, serving as surrogate parents to the poor children of the cities began to have irresistible appeal (Bellows, p. 123). In fact, so many individuals rose up to support the orphanages and homeless children, that society coined them with the phrase “child-savers” (Katz, p. 123).

The institutions and houses mentioned above are only several of many acts of charity and volunteerism that took place throughout Antebellum America. For example, the government passed acts to assist the poverty-stricken and the bankrupt (such as the Federal Bankruptcy Law of 1841) (Balleisen, p. 12). Churches held benefits and offered community service within their towns. Charity workers provided relief and attempted to find relatives who could assist needy families (Katz, p. 9). Landlords and grocers often gave credit that enabled the poor to endure weather periods of unemployment or sickness (Katz, p. 9). Poorhouses issued special coupons redeemable at designated stands in the market (Bellows, p. 78). Whether big or small, philanthropic efforts were being put forth from all corners of society. While some individuals gave money, other individuals gave their time to help those in need. Regardless, society was clearly making valiant efforts to assist and restore those aspects and individuals in society that seemed to be falling apart.

Despite the charity and assistance that was offered in almost every city and every town, many individuals were still forced to travel and move to new places in order to get back on their feet. Since people were so often in and out of employment, losing a job often meant traveling to find new work (Katz, p. 5). Especially in times of intense poverty and depression, workers fled cities in search of a fresh start (Katz, p. 5). Consequently, the advances being made in transportation and mobility during this time were highly profited and encouraged. As railroads were being built across the nation and different means of transportation were implemented and improved, more and more people were motivated to travel and move throughout the country. These advances in transportation made moving much more convenient, and gave the unemployed a much easier means to finding a new beginning. In addition, such advances in transportation enhanced the growth and expansion of less settled states and significantly smaller towns.

Although the most prominent and convenient railroads were never established in Georgia, the growth, success, and expansion of small counties and towns within the state spawned the construction of roads, taverns, and other means of transportation towards the end of the eighteenth century.7 However, as time passed by and the towns of Northeast Georgia continued to succeed, prominent railroads were built and Georgia became an easily accessible, and rather attractive, place to travel for those in search of a new start. One of the most attractive and prospering Antebellum Georgia towns was Athens, a small but successful city in its prime years of growth and prosperity.

Athens, which was centered around the University of Georgia, was indeed an attractive town to those in search of new beginnings. As it continued to grow throughout the Antebellum Period, it earned a reputation as a place of respect, success, and opportunity. The university’s progress continuously helped stimulate the economic growth of Athens, and town limits were extended while laws were adjusted in order to accommodate a rising population and increasing prosperity (Hynds, p. 22).

However, like the rest of the Antebellum America, Athens did have its share of problems and societal struggles. Many individuals who came to Athens were poor, sick, unemployed, homeless, and essentially, helpless. They were in search of a new start, as they had nothing left, and nothing to lose. Thus, in turn, Athens also had its share of public services and charities that hoped to assist those in need. Similar to most other towns and cities, Athens eventually established poorhouses, orphanages, and the like within its boundaries (if not, close by) to harbor those who had nowhere to turn. However, Athens also had its own unique sense of volunteerism and hospitality that was specific to the problems faced within its own boundaries. To begin with, town meetings were frequently held in an attempt to address a specific local problem or issue. One such meeting was conducted in order to discuss the “suffering of the poor of Ireland, and to adopt suitable measures to afford some relief to that ill-fated people.”8 As many Irish immigrants resided in Athens, local citizens took it upon themselves to offer these struggling individuals their charity and service. Soon after this meeting, the Irish Relief Committee of Athens was formed, whose primary focus was on the Irish immigrants in Athens. This committee made several reports of their progress, noting a variety of donations they had received from “the citizens of Athens and its vicinity”.9 These town meetings were conducted on a regular basis, usually to discuss a current societal issue or struggle that needed attention and improvement.

Aside from conducting town meetings and forming committees to aid specific groups, charities and volunteerism in Athens were largely represented by the churches. Being a fairly religious town, Athens produced a great number of churches throughout the Antebellum Period. The congregations of these churches frequently offered their services to the community, and on occasion held dinners and gatherings in order to benefit some charitable organization. In addition, groups would often form within these churches that would offer their services to benefit a specific cause. The Female Mire Society of Athens and Vicinity, for example, was a missionary society that was formed jointly out of the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches (Hynds, 107). Such societies and organizations (which were usually composed of all females), dedicated their time to assist and aid those in Athens who needed help.

Education was yet another strong point and solid basis for charitable action and progression in Athens. As Athens was the home of the University of Georgia, it was often called the “Classic City, because she has been the acknowledged seat of learning in Georgia for many years.”10 And this title was rightfully earned and deserved, as Athens provided and funded education for practically all individuals- even those who were mentally challenged and less fortunate. For instance, Manual Labor Schools were established for children of the poor, whom for one reason or another could not attend (or afford) regular schooling.11 The Gwinnett Institute was yet another school that was established specifically for those “less wealthy, and [who] have therefore been deprived of the advantages enjoyed by the more opulent.”12 Similar schools were also formed for females, as Athens seemed to pride itself on the education of all its peoples.

Therefore, Athens, like the rest of Antebellum America, had its share of societal problems as well as charitable functions and public services to assist those in need. Although the struggles and hardships that Athenians faced may seem much less severe when put into a national context, Athens did adequately represent the basic challenges of society that were prevalent throughout the Antebellum decades. There were women, children, poor, and mentally and physically ill that were in need in Athens, many of who traveled to Georgia in search of a new start. These very same individuals were those who had failed, and suffered, in the bigger cities and the greater society. Across all towns, cities, and states, societal problems remained the same, and the need for help was consistent across the nation.

In conclusion, the Antebellum Period marked a time of need, and in return, a time of hospitality, in America. As women, children, the poor, the diseased, and the mentally challenged struggled to survive in the face of a wavering economy, the more privileged individuals of society emerged to lend a helping hand.

1. Michael B. Katz, “In the Shadow of the Poorhouse” (New York: Basic Books, 1996), 4.

2. Edward J. Balleisen, “Navigating Failure: Bankruptcy and Commercial Society in Antebellum America” (Chapel Hill, North Carolina and London, England: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001), 4.

3. Barbara L. Bellows, “Benevolence Among Slaveholders: Assisting the Poor in Charleston 1670-1860 (Baton Rouge, Louisiana and London, England: Louisiana State University Press, 1993), 97.

4. Barbara L. Bellows, “Benevolence Among Slaveholders: Assisting the Poor in Charleston 1670-1860 (Baton Rouge, Louisiana and London, England: Louisiana State University Press, 1993), 97.

5. Leland V. Bell and Peter L. Tyor, “Caring for the Retarded in America: A History” (Westport, Connecticut and London, England: Greenwood Press, 1984), 26.

6. Sophia F. Dziegielewski, “The Changing Face of Health Care Social Work: Professional Practice in the Era of Managed Care” (New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company, 1998), 38.

7. Ernest C. Hynds, “Antebellum Athens and Clarke County Georgia” (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1974), 3.

8. The Southern Banner, Public Meeting in Athens. February 23, 1847. page 3, column 3.

9. The Southern Banner. Report of the Irish Relief Committee of Athens. March 30, 1847. page 2, column 3.

10. Augustus L. Hull, “Annals of Athens, Georgia 1801-1901” (Danielsville, Georgia: Heritage Papers, 1978), 178.

11. The Southern Banner, Manual Labor Schools. December 20, 1834. page 3, column 2.

12. The Southern Banner, The Gwinnett Institute. January 8, 1835. page 1, column 1.