Social Security Act

Before the 1930s, caring for the elderly was left to families, localities, and states; except for veterans’ pensions, Washington played no role. The Great Depression wiped out savings and jobs and built support for national old-age insurance. Movements such as Francis Townsend’s campaign for old-age pensions and Huey Long’s “Share the Wealth” campaign pressured Roosevelt from the left. On January 17, 1935, Roosevelt asked Congress for “social security” legislation. Opponents objected to government reaching into private life and to new taxes on employers, but a compromise bill passed both houses.

Unlike many European systems, American old-age insurance was funded by “contributions” — taxes on individual wages and employer payrolls — rather than general government revenue. Roosevelt insisted on this design to separate Social Security from the stigma of welfare; “No dole,” he said repeatedly. The act also funded state unemployment compensation, aid to children, the blind, and the unemployed, vocational training, and public health programs.

The original law excluded agricultural and domestic workers — a concession to Southern members of Congress that left out a large share of Black workers. Roosevelt acknowledged the law’s limits, calling it “a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete.”