Federal Assistance in the Early 20th Century
The early twentieth-century was a time of great change to the political and social landscape in America. Prior to the Great Depression, nonprofit charitable agencies such as churches, volunteer organizations, and state-directed emergency assistance programs provided financial assistance and social services for impoverished and disadvantaged citizens. Most of these programs relied primarily on private donations or state funding, but due to the economic crisis of the Great Depression reaching extraordinary levels, nonprofit organizations and state and local governments were unable to meet the public demand. Because of this, citizens and private institutions looked to the federal government for aid. As John Dewey (1935) writes, "the state has the responsibility for creating institutions under which individuals can effectively realize the potentialities that are theirs.” During this time, the federal government greatly expanded its role into citizen’s lives by creating emergency assistance and social service programs that private institutions and state and local governments were no longer financially able to provide.
A Change to Federal Assistance
During the early twentieth-century, many states adopted their own social welfare programs that included services such as child welfare, pension programs for the elderly, and mother’s pensions programs, which were cash payments to widows with young children to enable them to care for their children in their own homes (Bortz, n.d.). Additionally, many nonprofit institutions and local charities offered social, educational, and healthcare services that were funded primarily through private donations and user fees. The federal government originally had a small role in social services and the lives of citizens because as Smith (2009) indicates, “public policy for social and health services was largely a matter for state and local government.” All of this changed with the economic crisis of the Great Depression when private agencies, nonprofits, and state and local governments became financially unable to meet the rising public demand. Skyrocketing unemployment rates made it impossible for private charities to raise the necessary funds for their programs and many were forced to close. State and local governments quickly exhausted their financial resources and struggled to provide assistance as well. Zastrow (2009) notes that, “local and state funds proved inadequate to protect the growing millions of unemployed against, hunger, cold, and despair”, and “it became clear that the federal government must play a role in providing financial assistance and social services.” The increasing pressure to provide aid forced the federal government to act and in doing so, it became the primary agent of social and economic relief. The federal government’s role changed by having a more direct effect in citizen’s lives by implementing new federally-funded programs and legislation.
Social Welfare Legislation
Among the several economic relief programs that were established, the federal government assumed its role in the social welfare system with the creation of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). The purpose of this program was to provide federal grants for state governments to aid impoverished citizens and put the unemployed back to work. Hopkins (1999) notes that, “FERA established the doctrine that adequate public relief was a right that citizens in need could expect to receive from their government.” Hopkins (1999) continues to note that “FERA money supported both direct relief and work relief”, as seen with creation of the Civil Works Administration (CWA), which hired workers for construction projects that included building or improving highways, tunnels, courthouses, airports, and schools. Foner (2016) notes, “By January 1934, it employed more than 4 million persons”, and by the end of December 1935, FERA had distributed over $3.1 billion and employed more than 20 million people (Deeben, 2012). FERA was a popular program that helped many citizens during this time of crisis.
Social Insurance Programs
On August 14, 1935, The Social Security Act was created to provide long-term protections through public assistance and social insurance programs. Martin & Weaver (2005) note that the Social Security Act, “created several programs that…form the basis for the government's role in providing income security, specifically, the old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs” which “were intended to offer immediate relief to families.” The Act included dependent benefits and survivor benefits for widows and dependent children of retired or deceased workers, which helped citizens that had relied upon assistance programs such as mother’s pensions and many others that were no longer available due to the economic hardships of the Great Depression. The old-age insurance provisions were another area of concern as indicated in a speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 where he said:
Old age is at once the most certain, and for many people the most tragic of all hazards. There is no tragedy in growing old, but there is tragedy in growing old without means of support. Organizations promoting fantastic schemes have aroused hopes which cannot possibly be fulfilled (Social Security Administration, n.d.a).
Although benefit payments were distributed by the federal government, Congress preferred to fund the payments by taxing employee wages to prevent increasing the national debt. In doing so, the federal government provided citizens with the means to become self-sufficient once again. President Roosevelt summed it up best when he said:
The Act does not offer anyone, either individually or collectively, an easy life–nor was it ever intended so to do. None of the sums of money paid out to individuals in assistance or in insurance will spell anything approaching abundance. But they will furnish that minimum necessity to keep a foothold; and that is the kind of protection Americans want (Social Security Administration, n.d.b).
The Social Security Act was a perfect example of the federal government’s direct role in citizen’s lives and how the government provided assistance when it was limited.
Conclusion
The early twentieth century was a time of great change for citizens and the federal government. Citizens that had once relied on private institutions and state and local-directed programs looked to the federal government as the only entity able to address the social and economic issues resulting from the Great Depression. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Social Security Act were two programs that expanded the federal government’s role into citizen’s lives when private institutions and state and local governments were unable to do so.