Final answer:
The Charity Organization Society sought to provide moral uplift to the poor, believing that personal improvement could ameliorate social problems. They established missions in poor areas to encourage this advancement, which aligns with the ethos of self-help rather than integrating with or providing direct financial aid to the communities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that is TRUE of the Charity Organization Society is that they wanted to provide a moral uplift to the poor. This approach was based on the belief that poverty and other social problems were largely due to personal failings, such as a lack of self-discipline and moral compass. Influenced by the ideas of people like Samuel Smiles, reformers and charitable societies established missions in poor neighborhoods to encourage moral and personal improvement.
However, this moral uplift philosophy was not universally accepted. Different ideologies, like the settlement movement which was part of the social gospel movement, believed in living and working among the less fortunate to truly understand and address the issues of poverty. Settlement houses provided services like health care and education directly in poor neighborhoods, and the individuals involved often lived in the same communities they served.
On the contrary, Social Darwinism held an opposing view, which considered the poor to be irredeemable, and assistance was thought to be futile. Followers of this belief, like Herbert Spencer, did not support charity towards the poor, arguing it was against the natural order.
The Charity Organization Society's perspective was therefore one that attempted to facilitate personal betterment through moral guidance, rather than integrating with the community or providing direct financial aid.