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Cited by 491Nonprofit Sector and VolunteeringPolitical Theory and DemocracyAmerican Constitutional Law and Politics

A Nation of Organizers: The Institutional Origins of Civic Voluntarism in the United States

Skocpol, Theda, Ganz, Marshall, Munson, Ziad·2000·American Political Science Review
DOI 10.2307/2585829
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Abstract

We challenge the widely held view that classic American voluntary groups were tiny, local, and disconnected from government. Using newly collected data to develop a theoretically framed account, we show that membership associations emerged early in U.S. history and converged toward the institutional form of the representatively governed federation. This form enabled leaders and members to spread interconnected groups across an expanding nation. At the height of local proliferation, most voluntary groups were part of regional or national federations that mirrored the structure of U.S. government. Institutionalist theories suggest reasons for this parallelism, which belies the rigid dichotomy between state and civil society that informs much current discussion of civic engagement in the United States and elsewhere.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.2307/2585829

Cites

112 of 112 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Civic associations play a major role in creating civic infrastructure, incubating social movements, and acting as the dominant organizational form into which movements evolve.

    “Because of the way they are organized, the purposes for which they are organized, and the ways they exercise influence, civic associations play a major role not only in creating civic infrastructure but in incubating social movements and acting as the dominant organizational form into which movements evolve.”

    From Leadership, Membership, and Voice: Civic Associations That Work (2010) · cites this paper as Skocpol, Ganz, and Munson (2000)

  • Of the 46 civic associations that encompassed 1% or more of the U.S. population between 1776 and 1955, 17 incubated or institutionalized social movements.

    “of the 46 civic associations that encompassed 1% or more of the U.S. population between 1776 and 1955, 17 of them incubated or institutionalized social movements.”

    From Leadership, Membership, and Voice: Civic Associations That Work (2010) · cites this paper as Skocpol, Ganz, and Munson (2000)

  • The Sierra Club is an important kind of civic association through its federated organizational form.

    “In addition, the Sierra Club is an important kind of civic association through its federated organizational form.”

    From Leadership, Membership, and Voice: Civic Associations That Work (2010) · cites this paper as Skocpol et al. 2000

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Related

Authors
Skocpol, T., Ganz, M., & Munson, Z.
Affiliations
Harvard University (US)
ORCID
Venue
American Political Science Review
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
2000-09-01
Volume
94
Issue
3
Pages
527-546
ISSN
  • 0003-0554 (ISSN-L)
  • 1537-5943
DOI
10.2307/2585829
OpenAlex
W2110491165
Cited by
491
References
114
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 28 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 9
FWCI
75.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified)
Locations
  • American Political Science Review (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › American Constitutional Law and Politics
Keywords
civil society organizations, civic voluntarism, citizen participation, federation, institutional origins, civil society, state and civil society, civic organizations, institutionalism, American history, national federations

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