Richard Andrew Cloward (December 25, 1926 – August 20, 2001) was an American sociologist and activist. He influenced the Strain theory of criminal behavior and the concept of anomie, and was a primary motivator for the passage of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, commonly known as the "Motor Voter Act". He taught at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for 47 years.

Early life

Cloward was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, the son of Esther Marie (Fleming), an artist and women's rights activist, and Donald Cloward, a radical Baptist minister. Cloward served as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1944 to 1946. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

in 1949, and then a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

Columbia University School of Social Work The Columbia University School of Social Work is the graduate school of social work of Columbia University. It is the nation's oldest social work program, with roots extending back to 1898, when the New York Charity Organization Society's first ...

in 1950. He then served as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

from 1951 to 1954, and later worked as a social worker in an army prison in

New Cumberland, Pennsylvania New Cumberland is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in easternmost Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. New Cumberland was incorporated on March 21, 1831. The population was 7,277 at the 2010 census. The ...

. Cloward became an assistant professor at Columbia's School of Social Work in 1954, and had visiting posts at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

, the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

and Arizona State University. He received a doctorate in sociology from

in 1958. Together with fellow sociologist Lloyd Ohlin, Cloward wrote ''Delinquency and Opportunity: A Theory of Delinquent Gangs'', which rejected the prevailing premise that delinquency resulted from individual irresponsibility and argued it was caused by poverty and the lack of alternative opportunities caused by poverty, and that the conditions underlying delinquency could be resolved through social programs.

Political activities

In 1966, Cloward co-founded the National Welfare Rights Organization, which advocated federalizing

Aid to Families with Dependent Children Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was a federal assistance program in the United States in effect from 1935 to 1997, created by the Social Security Act (SSA) and administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Ser ...

by building local

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

rolls. In 1982, he and his wife

Frances Fox Piven Frances Fox Piven (born October 10, 1932) is an American professor of political science and sociology at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, where she has taught since 1982.

founded "Human SERVE" (Service Employees Registration and Voter Education), which established motor-voter programs in selected states as precedents for the Motor Voter Act enacted in 1993. Also in 1966, he and Piven published a paper in the May issue of ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...

'' magazine — "The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty", which advocated wiping out poverty by increasing demands on the federal government, leading to implementation of a guaranteed minimum income. His detractors called this the " Cloward-Piven Strategy".

References

Obituary at Columbia News

External links

Richard A. Cloward papers
in the

Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, a ...

, Smith College Special Collections

Bibliography

* ''Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare'' (Pantheon, 1971) * '' Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail'' (Pantheon, 1977) * ''Why Americans Don't Vote: And Why Politicians Want it That Way'' (Beacon, 1988) * ''The Breaking of the American Social Compact'' (New Press, 1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloward, Richard 1926 births 2001 deaths American sociologists Columbia University faculty Columbia University School of Social Work faculty Columbia University School of Social Work alumni University of Rochester alumni United States Army officers United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War