By Lee L. Schreiber TEMPLE UNIVERSITY BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES: A PHILADELPHIA MICROCOSM ALTHOUGH several scholars including Neil Harris, Oliver Larkin, A Russell Lynes, Lillian G. Miller and Russell B. Nye have studied the relationships of artists and art patrons to such diverse subjects as politics, tastemaking, commercialism, and patriotism, little attention has been given to the patron's social position within the local community or the degree of involvement in local organiza- tions.' A study which explores the ties of the layman art patron to such organizations helps identify 19th century American art patrons by more than name and aids in understanding motivation. Beginning in the early decades of the 19th century and continuing at least to the Civil War many Americans organized and joined a multitude of societies. Although many historians have argued that these organizations embraced citizens of all classes,' more recent studies show that, in the main, it was the rich and eminent who founded and guided these societies and often made up the bulk of the membership. : The Philadelphia elite were typical of the national urban elite. In turn, the leaders of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts were typical of Philadelphia elite' and, like their contemporaries in 1. Neil Harris, The Artst in American Society (New York, 1966); Olivei Larkin, Art and Life in America (New York, 1949); Russell Lynes, The Tastemnakers (New York, 1949); Lillian B. Miller, Patrons and Patriotism (Chicago, 1966); Russell B. Nve, The Cultural Life of the New Nation (New York, 1960). 2. Sam Bass Warner, Jr., The Private Cit4: Philadelphia in Three Periods of its Growth (Philadelphia, 1968), p. 61; Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy int Alieria (New Yorki 1954), 2:114; Edward Pessen, Riches, Class and Poiser Belore the, Civil 11 nai(Lexiigtois, Mass., 1973), p. 251. 3. Pessen, Riches, pp. 252-253. 4 The word "elite" in this article is used to describe those Philadelphians ofSt l)- stantial means and income or those who had come from or married into families of 251 252 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY other cities, were to be found in the forefront of social activism. They organized, promoted, and directed philanthropic, educational, sci- entific, religious, cultural, fraternal, and patriotic organizations. Investigation proves that the influence and power wielded by these gentlemen of substance and standing through their many urban institutions were proportionate to one's wealth and status in society, and those who founded and led the Pennsylvania Academy were invariably to be found in the leadership of other local civic and social organizations. As such, the Academy leadership was a microcosm of both city and institutional leadership.' No matter how lofty their stated aims, how pious their ideals, how humanitarian their concerns, or how patriotic their slogans, 19th century voluntary cultural institutions were useful instruments to maintain and transmit values of the urban elite. Civic, cultural, patriotic, and social clubs became important meeting places for the establishment and cementing of social and business alliances. From London to Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Charleston, these social organizations were another link in the chain of institutions which fostered elitist cultural patterns within upper class society, transmitted such values to their offspring, and set the example of "C~correct" social behavior for those of lesser status. To test this thesis we have only to examine the histories and membership rolls of early local institutions.6 wealth and standing and were thus regarded by each other as equals and thereby acceptable partners for intermarriage. They also saw themselves as possessors of a prestige that set them apart and above the majority of society and were admired and envied by the masses of citizens in lower class divisions. See G. William Domhoff, Who Rules America (Englewood Cliffs, NJ., 1967), p. 4; Pessen, Riches, pp. 127-128, 166; Joseph A. Kahl, Comparative Perspectives on Stratification (Boston, 1968), p. x; Robert A. Dahl, Who Governs (New Haven, 1961), p. 229; Joseph Schumpeter, "The Problem of Classes," in Reinhard Bendix and Seymour Martin Lipset, eds., Class, Status, and Power (Glencoe, Ill., 1953), p. 77. Also, for an explanation of the term "Old Wealth" and 18th-century background of the Philadelphia "aristocracy," see Eric Foner, Tom Paine and Revolutionay America (New York, 1976), pp. 21-23. 5. Lee L. Schreiber, "The Philadelphia Elite in the Development of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1805-1842" (Ph.D. dissertation, Temple University, 1977), Appendix A and B. 6. BarbaraJeanette Howe, "Clubs, Culture and Charity" (Ph.D. dissertation, Temple University, 1976), pp. ii, 618-623; James Mease, M.D., The Picture of Philadelphia. ... , (Philadelphia, 1811), pp. 199 passim.; Frank Thistlethwaite, The Anglo-American Connection in the Early Nineteenth Century (Philadelphia, 1959), pp. 17, 79 87, 98; Sam Bass Warner, Jr., The Private City (Philadelphia, 1968), pp. 10- 11; E. Digby Baltzell, Philadelphia Gentlemen (New York, 1958), pp. v, 5-69, passin. BLUEBLOODS AND LOCAL SOCIETIES 253 In no other field were the city leaders more apt to demonstrate their commitment to social activism than in the realm of education. Concerned always with self-improvement and dissemination of knowledge, prominent Philadelphians from the early 18th century formed societies to advance specialized information. Later, these same citizens created libraries and academies to educate the sons of the "better sort." Pennsylvania Academy founders and activists were always among those who organized and guided these enter- prises. The earliest educational association in Pennsylvania still in existence, the Library Company of Philadelphia organized by Ben- jamin Franklin in 1731, had fourteen PAFA charter members on its rolls. By 1835 no less than forty names of Academy founders or mem- bers of the board of directors were inscribed on the pages of the Library's membership register. 7 In 1815, a small group of gentlemen formed another library society in Philadelphia. The new society, named the Athenaeum of Phila- delphia, was planned as a combination gentlemen's reading room and museum of history and natural science. Three of the incorpora- tors, including the first President and Vice-President, were also PAFA incorporators. Other Academy directors were on the board of direc- tors. During its formative years no members were more influential than the PAFA members in building the new society.' Within five years from its founding the Athenaeum, headed by PAFA officers, grew into one of the most viable organizations in the city. Its reading rooms became select meeting places for its members and their friends. During the early years of existence thirty-two PAFA activists enrolled as stockholding members of the society.9 7. Catalogue of the Books Belonging to the Library Company of Philadelphia, to which is pre- fixed, a Short Account of the Institution with the Charter, Laws, and Regulations (Philadelphia, 1835), pp. ix-xiii; "Papers Relating to Morning Sessions," 11 June 1811, Norris Manuscripts, 46-49, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, hereafter referred to as HSP; "Memorial to Library Company," 5 February 1812, Norris Manuscripts, 49, HSP; "Chronological Register of the Library Company of Philadelphia," Archives, Library Company. For complete listing of names of PAFA activists for Library Company and other organizations in this article, see Schreiber "Phila. Elite," Appendix A. 8. Charter and Bylaws of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1817) p. 17; The 75th Annual Report of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia(Philadelphia, 1890); "Extracts from the Minutes," Box #73, v. 1, HSP; "Rough Minute Book," Archives, The Athe- naeum; Charterand By-Laws of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia . (Philadelphia, 1820), pp. 3-4, 20-24. 9. "Rough Minute Book," 1815-1836, Archives, The Athenaeum; "Athenaeum Stockholders" in Charter and By-Laws of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1820). 254 PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY But, self-education and the advancement of knowledge for the few were not enough for civic and educational leaders. Bolstered by 19th century optimism and the idea that all men were capable of learning, Academy men were to be found in the vanguard of every movement seeking to extend the benefits of education to the less privileged. When over 400 Philadelphians responded to the call to establish the Apprentices' Library in 1820,'° the most distinguished citizens of the area, including many Pennsylvania Academy directors, were listed among the charter members. The Library incorporators elected the eminent jurist and PAFA director Horace Binney as its first president." Founders and directors of the Academy of the Fine Arts were also active in the development and management of the University of Pennsylvania. Three PAFA founders had attended the College of Philadelphia, the forerunner of the University, prior to the American Revolution. By 1800 there were twenty-three PAFA graduates of the University. Fourteen PAFA activists served as trustees for the growing university while Joseph Hopkinson, the long-term president of the PAFA and P. F. Glentworth, the long-term PAFA director, were both particularly active in the College administration.'2 Perhaps no division of educational institutionalism was more attractive to the urban upper class than those organizations known as "learned societies." And no learned society could rival the prestige of