the very concept of self-improvement originated in America!

During the Industrial revolution many nineteenth-century Americans believed strongly in the individual’s capacity to improve and educate him- or herself, as well as in the importance of formal education. American society was also thought to be more fluid in its class structure than many European societies, a conviction which fostered the widespread faith that perseverance and hard work could enable the individual to rise in rank and in prosperity.

At the same time, the growth of literacy and the waning of traditional structures of apprenticeship and household training made it both practical and necessary to offer in print form the kinds of practical instructions that an earlier era might have transmitted orally. The Nineteenth Century in Print accordingly offers a number of works of self-help and self-improvement, from advice on domestic economy and agricultural practice to hints on how to acquire the attributes of personal gentility that might speed one’s entry into a higher social class. There is a lot of material in the historical online library!

If there was any one theme throughout Ben Franklin's life, it was self-improvement. This PBS website tells his story.

Perhaps more than any other person who ever lived, Dale Carnegie changed the human relations movement. His world-famous course has now influenced millions of people. Looking back on his life, Carnegie saw that worry and fear were the forces that held him back. Conquering worry and fear gave him a new hold on life. He developed the Dale Carnegie Course as a forum for overcoming worry and fear and developing human relations and leadership skills. Now you can benefit from the insight on leadership that nine decades and millions of students have brought to the Dale Carnegie Organization.

Napoleon Hill is considered to have influenced more people into success than any other person in history. Born in a one-room cabin, he began his career as a journalist. His big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie, who was so impressed with the young reporter that he convinced Hill to research and organize the world's first philosophy of individual achievement. The project took 20 years to complete. Hill wrote several best-selling books on the subject. Napoleon Hill's "Think And Grow Rich" is one of best-selling self-improvement books of all time.