Social Welfare programs in the United States have been molded by changing social and economic conditions since America was colonized. From the earliest colonial times, local towns and villages acknowledged they had an obligation to support the needy. The colonies imported the British Poor Laws to deal with the poor. According to Samimi (2010), “British Poor Laws… established a distinction between those who were unable to work due to their age or physical health and those who were able-bodied but unemployed. Those who were deemed unable to work were assisted with cash or other forms of assistance from the Colonial government. Those deemed able to work were sent to workhouses.” Overtime, more organized measures have been adopted to provide aid …show more content…
President Franklin D. Roosevelt emphasized the need to provide work relief for the millions of unemployed Americans. Even though federal money went to the states to fund public works projects to employ the unemployed, the states were mainly responsible with taking care of those unable to work but states and private charities lacked the funds to maintain their support. In 1935, President Roosevelt declared in his State of the Union Address before the members of Congress that, “the time has come for action by the national government" to provide "security against the major hazards and vicissitudes [uncertainties] of life," (BRIA, 1998). Roosevelt proposed the creation of federal unemployment, old-age insurance programs and guaranteed benefits for poor single mothers and their dependents. A few months later, Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act, which he believed would provide economic security when needed. The Social Security Act helped people save money for when they could no longer work, in addition it established a national welfare system. The national welfare system also funded assistance for needy children, for impoverished elderly, the blind, needy, and crippled …show more content…
Johnson also sought to increase welfare rights. Johnson outlined his goals for “the Great Society” in his State of the Union address. According to Wicker (1965), Johnson’s plan was described as “He requested ‘doubling the war against poverty this year’ and called for new emphasis on area redevelopment, further efforts at retraining unskilled workers, an improvement in the unemployment compensation system and an extension of the minimum wage floor to two million workers now unprotected by it. … He called for new, improved or bigger programs in attacking physical and mental disease, urban blight, water and air pollution, and crime and delinquency.” Programs that were a result of the Great Society legislation included the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, Headstart, Medicare and Medicaid, Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Voting Rights Act of 1968. However, Johnson’s goals were partially undermined by the Vietnam War, which restricted spending and damaged his popularity. After he left office, many of his programs were cut; however, many of his programs have had a lasting impact including Medicare, Medicaid, Headstart, WIC, and Food