Historical Overview of Social Welfare Policy in the US

1
Historical Overview of Social Welfare Policy in
the US

• Social Welfare Policy
• Spring 2006

2
Poor Laws in England, 1601
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Important Principles of the Poor Laws

• Compulsory taxation
• Local responsibility
• Emphasis on work
• Mistrust of dependency
• Deservingness
• Less eligibility

4
Functions of Poor Laws

• Compassion
• Deterrence
• Control

5
Colonial Period (1647-1776)

• Indoor relief vs. outdoor relief
• Special treatment of veterans

6
Pre-Civil War (1777-1860)

• Suspicion of national government
• Slavery in Southern states
• Industrialization and urbanization in Northern
  states
• Response focused on reforming individuals
• Almshouse predominant form

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Lawrence Poor Farm
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Civil War and after (1860-1900)
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The Post-Civil War South

• Physical devastation
• Destruction of economic base
• Wounded veterans
• Widows and orphans
• Freed homeless blacks
• Drought

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Freedmens Bureau, 1865-1869

• Transportation for refugees
• Food rations
• Hospitals and medical supplies
• Orphan asylums
• Schools for freed blacks

• Criticized for fostering dependency
• Ongoing suspicion of government
• Redistribution from North to South
• Racism
• Perception as radical

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Soldiers Home, Washington DC
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Reform Movements, 1850-1900

• Charity Organization Movement
• Scientific approach
• Individual focus
• Private charity rather than government
• Social work and organization of private charities

• Settlement House Movement
• Mixed class settlements
• Assumption of mutual dependency
• Advocacy for systematic reforms

13
Progressive Era, 1900-1914

• Social justice through legal regulation and
  protection
• Anti-trust legislation
• Establishment of FDA
• Regulation of railroads and other industries
• Child labor laws
• Work hour limitations for women
• Mothers pensions

14
Increasing Government Role

• Establishment of Federal Income tax, 1913
• Shift in overseeing of poor relief
• Regulatory power

15
World War I and after, 1914-1929

• Postwar economic boom
• Return to focus on individual
• Veterans Bureau established, 1921

16
The Great Depression, 1929
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The Great Depression

• In 1933, one-quarter of the US labor force was
  unemployed
• The Depression lasted for 12 years, until the
  beginning of WWII
• Between 1929 and 1931, 30 of nations private
  charities forced to close
• GNP dropped from 103 billion in 1929 to 55.6
  billion in 1933

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Premises of New Deal policy

• Scale of crisis demands federal intervention
• Systematic view of poverty
• Belief in efficacy of the market system
• Importance of balanced budget
• Keynesian theory of effective demand

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New Deal programs

• Emergency Banking Bill, 1932
• Agricultural Adjustment Act, 1933
• Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933
• Tennessee Valley Authority, 1933
• Federal Emergency Relief Administration, 1933
• Works Progress Administration, 1935

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Social Security Act, 1935
21
Social Security Act, 1935

• Old Age Insurance
• Unemployment Benefits
• Aid to Dependent Children

22
World War II and Postwar Prosperity

• Full employment due to war effort marked real end
  of depression
• Elimination of New Deal work programs such as CCC
  and WPA
• G.I. Bill of Rights, 1944

23
Attack on public welfare

• Shifting perception of adult recipients as
  unworthy
• Shift from cash programs to service approach
• Public Welfare Amendments, 1962

24
War on Poverty

• Economic Opportunity Act, 1964
• Community Mental Health Act, 1964
• Food Stamp Act, 1964
• Social Security Amendments to add Medicare and
  Medicaid, 1965

25
Economic stagnation, 1970-1990

• Shift to seeing government as the problem rather
  than the solution
• Reagan fiscal policy based on tax cuts and
  increased private investment
• Overall diminishing role of federal government in
  social welfare provision

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1990s to today

• Contract with America
• Welfare reform, 1996
• Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990

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Looking forward

• Budget deficits and wartime expenses
• Continuation of retreat from government
  involvement in social welfare provision
• Continuation of retreat from language of rights
• Significant problems that need solutions