This chapter examines the historical antecedents of the American social welfare state, examining the early institutions that addressed human needs. The influence of Judeo Christian charity customs is examined, as well as the English Poor Laws which served as an early model for much of American social welfare. These influential eras of social welfare development – colonial America, the Civil War, Progressivism, the Great Depression, Post-World War II, the Great Society – are linked to modern welfare state. The roles of industrialization and the voluntary sector are also examined. Early social welfare leaders who emerged throughout the 19th and 20th centuries created structures that would advance social justice in America, create models for social welfare responses, and champion causes to improve conditions for vulnerable populations.
2. The English
Poor Laws
Early on welfare was responsibility of churches or left up to
communities and neighbors
Those with money built almshouses, hospitals, and even
infrastructure
Other Poor Laws required the government to take responsibility
for beggars and vagabond
Although criminalized homelessness, it forced authorities to gather
resources to care for the poor, sick, disabled and elderly
Also, assisted those who could work to find work and provide
education to children
1572 – Mandatory tax enacted to help provide for the poor
1601 – Elizabethan Poor Laws – enacted to “control” the poor.
Those who could not be employed would receive an allowance in
order to prevent from them becoming disruptive
3. The English
Poor Laws
Separated the “deserving” poor from the “undeserving” poor
The underserving were beggars, vagabonds, drunks and the lazy
Those underserving were made to work for their assistance
Those who refused to work could be sent to jail or sentence to death
The worthy poor were those who were blind, the lame, orphans,
those who lost their job due to no fault of their own
Origins of the Poor Laws
4. The Poor in
Colonial
America
Colonies adopted many aspects of the English Poor Laws
Assigned responsibilities for their residents to the county or parish
where the person lived
Community members took care of each other (e.g., providing
housing, food, etc.)
Smaller towns auctioned off the poor, found them a home, or
apprenticed out children
Less than 1% received help from outside sources
Outsiders were shunned from public assistance, though they were
compassionate towards those less fortunate in their towns
Residency requirements were enacted in order to receive assistance
Not until the mid 1800’s did the federal government begins to
accept limited responsibility for the poor
5. The Poor in
Colonial
America
Almshouses begin to appear in the 1700s.They are buildings built
by charitable person or entity to house the poor.
In small towns, the town council would auction off the poor, place
them in the home of others at public expense, apprentice out
children or send them to privately operated almshouse
Public assistance was mainly for those who lived in the county or
parish.Outsiders were not allowed to received assistance.
“Warning Out” - newcomers were encourage to continue on if they
were indigent.
“Passing on” – returning the person to the county or parish where
they came from
6. SocialWelfare
in theCivil
War Era
The Federal government resisted
involvement in care for the poor and the
needy, but few incident demonstrated
the need for their involvement.
Dorothea Dix , a Sunday school teacher
who advocated for the mentally ill after
volunteering at an asylum.
Mentally ill were sent to almshouses,
prisons or mental institutions
Treatment was poor suffering sexual
assault, mistreatment, neglect, etc.
DD concluded that the problem needed
intervention at government level both
state and federal
1854 Congress passed a bill providing
funding for programs for the mentally ill
Bill was vetoed by President Pierce
7. SocialWelfare
in theCivil
War Era
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, andAbandoned Lands – 1865
Federal response to the aftermath of the CivilWar and assistedAfrican
Americans in their transition to freedom
Provided assistance to former slaves without job skills, land or jobs.
Provided food, housing opportunities, medical treatment, judicial
system for AA, college programs and financial assistant.
One of the earliest involvements of Federal Government in providing
social services
The Freedman’s Bureau was disbanned in 1872 by act of Congress
8. Industrializati
on and the
Voluntary
Sector
Industrialization
From 1870 to 1920, the U.S. experienced a sharp increase in the number
of migrants arriving from rural areas and foreign countries
Increase in population in urban areas led to:
Poor sanitation and increased health concern
Scarcity of jobs and low wages
Overcrowding; lack of housing
Lack of resources and mounting expenses for social welfare programs
9. Industrializati
on and the
Voluntary
Sector
Early social work was conducted by volunteers in communities and
through churches; interdependence was key
Charity Organization Societies (COS)
Credited with being the first social workers and inventors of the
casework system
Composed of volunteers and agency representatives who
performed who studied cases of social problems and ways to
address them
“Friendly visitor” offered advice and oversaw the family's
progress.
They believed that unregulated and unsupervised relief caused
rather than cured poverty so a volunteer
Preferred to give advice and encourage people to work
Believed that too much charity caused dependency and
laziness
10. Settlement
Houses
Started to house and service immigrant and low-income
families by people of means
Staffed by students, single women, teachers, doctors,
lawyers
Provided housing like a Almshous but also additional
supportive services, including helping with job searches,
casework, counseling, group therapy, adult education, and
childcare
They also advocated for social reform. Formed advocacy
groups, studied causes of pauperism and inform the public
Similar to modern day social work
11. JaneAddams,
Mother of
SocialWork
Mother of SocialWork
Jane Addams gained
prominence through her
writing, settlement work, and
international efforts for
peace.
Winner of Nobel Peace Prize
Jane Addams
Started Hull House in Chicago
13. TheSocial
Casework
Agency
The birth of social work profession
Normally headed and run by female volunteers
Received funding from direct donations, “Community Chests” (think
UnitedWay) and foundations
Origins of accountability in non-profit work
Led to organized services being provided, tracking and budgeting
Practiced “social diagnosis” in case intervention; origins of evidence-
based practice.
Followed profession like Psychology
Methods employed by caseworkers included diagnosis, interviewing,
prognosis, planning, treatment and re-education
Practice of casework spread to medical clinics, family planning agencies,
probation offices, welfare offices, etc.
14. Progressive
Movement
From early 1900’s until beginning ofWorldWar I
Tried to inject morality into the U.S.’s social, political and economic
affairs
Believed that government should take care of its people
Skeptical of big business and emphasized ethics in government,
business and private lives
Theodore Roosevelt proposed natural resource conservation and civil
service reform Pro-woman movement that protected their rights to a
minimum wage and as a result of suffrage movement, help women get
the right to vote in federal elections in 1920.
15. Progressive
Movement
PresidentWilson curved monopolies by enacting the Antitrust Act of
1914, created better working conditions for those working in interstate
and internationalCommerce,Workers’ Compensation for federal
workers, federal aid to states for construction of federal highways and
education programs for farmers
Prohibition – enacted on 1920 until 1933; a nationwide constitutional
ban on the manufacturing, transportation and sale of alcohol
Social workers were in favor of prohibition
Widely unpopular around the country
Prohibition History
The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
16. TheGreat
Depression
Stock Market crashed October 1929
Unemployment reached 24%
More people emigrated from the United States than migrated
Birth rate dropped
20 million people sought relief
Cities around the country refused services to non-whites
Farmers protested against foreclosures and banks repossessing their
property
Federal government did nothing. Hoover opted for to allow the
economic to recover on their own. Believed that aid to the poor would
weaken social and moral fiber of society
Charitable services were soon exhausted
17. TheGreat
Depression &
the New Deal
What happened?
FDR takes office in 1933
New Deal: brought forth the idea of public welfare vs. everyone out for
themselves
“Relief, Recovery and Reform” - Scale of the poverty led to economic
reform
Govt. should be compassionate with its people. Some of the first
actions was to provide the basics: food, shelter, and clothing for the
unemployed and their families
Created the Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation (FDIC) –
guaranteed the Federal government would insure bank deposits if bank
becomes insolvent
18. TheGreat
Depression &
the New Deal
Programs and laws:
Federal Emergency Relief Administration – distributed $5.2 million
in relief
National Recovery Act – public works projects that employed
individual to build dams, bridges, libraries and other public
structures
TennesseeValleyAuthority (TVA) – technological and social
experiment that brought electricity to the South, helped control
flooding, reclaimed land, improved river navigation
Federal Housing Authority (FHA) – provided first mortgages for
residential property and insurance to lenders against losses on
secured and unsecured loans for repairs and improvements
CivilianConservationCorps - provided unskilled manual labor jobs
related to the conservation and development of natural
resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local
governments
19. TheGreat
Depression &
the New Deal
Programs and laws:
Social Security of 1935
Old-age insurance system
Federal grants to states for maternal and child welfare
services
Public assistance for dependent children
Vocational rehabilitation for the handicapped
Medical care for handicapped children
Aid to the blind
A plan to strengthen public health services
A federal-state unemployment insurance
Not included: national health care
Fair Labor Standards Act
Minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor restrictions
20. TheGreat
Society
The Great Society
EconomicOpportunityAct of 1964 – looked to break the cycle of
poverty, assist the poor into jobs and eventually middle class
Established the Office of Economic Opportunity
Implemented programs includingVolunteers in Service to America,
Upward Bound, Operation Head Start, Job Corps, etc.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 – prohibits discrimination based on race,
religion, sex or national origin. Ended segregation in schools and in the
workplace as well as discriminatory voter registration requirements
Civil Rights Act of 1965 – eliminated voting barriers directed atAfrican
Americans
Social Security Act of 1964 – Medicare and Medicaid
Older Americans Act of 1965 – national network of agencies to assist
the elderly, e.g. nutrition programs, preventative care, day care, and
other supportive programs
Food Stamps
21. OtherWelfare
Highlights
Nixon’s
SSI – Supplemental Security Income – income for the elderly and
then disabled
Federal funding for food stamps program
Earned IncomeTax Credit – provides relief for the working class;
offsets Social Security tax, high food and energy prices
Reagan
Believed spending on welfare programs should be minimal, only
the truly needy should receive assistance and that help should be
short termed
Trickled-down economics
Poverty levels rose from 26 million to 33 million during his
presidency
22. OtherWelfare
Highlights
George H.W. Bush
Americans with DisabilitiesAct - “equality of opportunity, full
participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.”
Sweeping changes in the treatment of disabled; provided protections
against discrimination in the workplace and public places, requires
employers and schools to provide reasonable accommodations
Bill Clinton
Ryan White Care Act – funding for AIDS research and placed AIDS/HIV
patients under Americans with DisabilitiesAct
Personal Responsibility and Work OpportunityAct of 1996
Eliminated entitlement to public assistance
TANF –Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Included work requirements and strict rules requirement in order for the
family to be able to collect welfare
23. OtherWelfare
Highlights
George W. Bush
No Child Left Behind – aimed to improve academic achievement and
improve teacher quality
Medicare Part D – prescription drug program for seniors with Medicare
Barack Obama
Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – federally run healthcare program that
provided health insurance for all. Expanded Medicaid coverage to include
preventative care and provided additional subsidies for care.
Editor's Notes
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