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SCOD Study Book Report Project Summary
by Dr. Drogo Empedocles Esq.
“I am making this study of Cawelti's work, for one thing because it is out of print, and I feel that SUCCESS is a subject we should have been taught in school. I provide this summary to aid others in understanding what success means to them, as it inspired me deeply when I read it after college in the summer of 2000. While my summary lacks the scholarly prestige of the original, I add more resources in keeping with the spirit of self-improvement. I am not being paid to do this, so I consider this a successful note taking, and generous gift to those that are appreciative of such sharing.” - Drogo
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Apostles of the Self-Made Man:
Changing Concepts of Success in America
1965 book by John G. Cawelti - University of Chicago Phoenix Press - 280 pages
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SUMMARY
This is a book about the popular culture of success in America. It discusses natural qualities of character, education, values, and needs of individuals and society. It is a decent American history of changing concepts of success; with a focus on three main sources: historic individuals, fictional figures, and manual guides. It uses literature as a source to reference social history.
In spite of their persistent devotion to the idea of success, Americans have differed greatly in the way they defined it. That is the subject of this book. - p.3
Though the self-made man wasn't an American invention, Americans have cherished the notion of someone rising out of poverty and, through hard work and dedication, achieving at least a moderate amount of wealth and respect. Purely American icons such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson each wrote about the opportunity for anyone in a fluid American class system to grow through their own power towards a particular position in society. Yet, much like Abraham Lincoln in the tumultuous ante-bellum period and the Gilded Age's robber barons, the self-made man appeared most notably in times of rapid change and transition . - C.1
Three Strands of American Success
Religious - 'Protestant Work Ethic (pious morality)'
Economic - 'Wealth = Success'
Complex Individual and Social Ethics and Dreams, often combining the first 2 strands
American society saw three main versions of the self-made man emerge in epitomizing the ideal of success. The first focused on a Protestant notion of "piety, frugality, and diligence" in fulfilling the duties of one's occupation. This version suggested that a static, stable social order existed in which success was the attainment of respectability in this world and led to the assurance of salvation in the world to come. As strict Protestantism gave way to other, secular notions of success, this ideal began to fade away.
The second tradition placed a premium on a more economic emphasis of success. While the first focused on religious notions of grace and propriety, the second enlisted the purely lay qualities of aggressiveness, competitiveness, and forcefulness. As industrialization swept over the United States in the Gilded Age and beyond, people prescribed to this ideal of success beyond the scope of religion. The hierarchical structure of many new corporations demanded such qualities from their employees if they hoped to "climb the ladder of success." The third type of success, was a combination of the former two; taking ethics and humility from religious loyalty, in an existential industrial work environment.
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CONTENTS
intro - meaning of the self-made man
The idea of mobility in the thought of Franklin and Jefferson
Self-Improvement and Self-Culture: Ralph Waldo Emerson
From Rags to Respectability: Horatio Alger
Self-Made Man and Industrial America: Portrayal of mobility in the 19th century novel
Dream or Rat Race: Success in the 20th Century
Individual Success and Community: John Dewey's Philosophy of Success
index (total 280 pages)
(click on Chapter Links or sub-links for more)
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