ABSTRACT
Philanthropy and fraternity were ideals doubly commended to nineteenth-century Americans. Both the humanitarianism of the Enlightenment and the precepts of Christianity reminded men of their mutual ties and obligations. A close study of business involvement in nineteenth-century social problems would surely reveal a broad range of experiences and viewpoints. Since the distinctions between business and the community were not clear in the company town, sharp lines were seldom drawn between contributions of the firm to community services and the individual benevolences of owners or managers. Visitors to Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition found another model industrial community at Pullman, on the southern rim of the young metropolis. Industrialization and social change, or fear of change, led some businessmen to consider their economic interests in a wider social context. Chief among the agencies which struggled with such problems were two war-spawned national organizations, the United States Sanitary Commission and the YMCA-sponsored United States Christian Commission.
