The Transformation of Old Age Security: Class and Politics in the American Welfare State

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About The Transformation Of Old Age Security: Class And

Product Description Why did the United States lag behind Germany, Britain, and Sweden in adopting a national plan for the elderly? When the Social Security Act was finally enacted in 1935, why did it depend on a class-based double standard? Why is old age welfare in the United States still less comprehensive than its European counterparts? In this sophisticated analytical chronicle of one hundred years of American welfare history, Jill Quadagno explores the curious birth of old age assistance in the United States. Grounded in historical research and informed by social science theory, the study reveals how public assistance grew from colonial-era poor laws, locally financed and administered, into a massive federal bureaucracy. From Library Journal This is an ambitious effort by Quadagno ( Aging in Early Industrial Society ) to discuss the evolution of public assistance, and eventually of social security, over two centuries of U.S. history. The main themes are the reasons for America's comparatively late development of national welfare programs; the influence of big business and craft labor unions in shaping these programs; and southern planters' key role in limiting public welfare. The argument that this material can be fitted into a Marxian matrix is not convincing. The writing is turgid and prolix. An optional purchase for comprehensive subject collections. Harry Frumerman, formerly with Hunter Coll., CUNY Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Jill Quadagno holds the Mildred and Claude Pepper Eminent Scholar’s chair in Social Gerontology at Florida State University. She is the editor of Aging, the Individual, and Society and Social Bonds in Later Life and the author of Aging in Early Industrial Society and The Family in Various Cultures.