Social Work Policy Practice: Changing
Our Community, Nation, & the World
Chapter 2, Social Workers & Political
Action: Three Relevant Historical Periods
Jessica A. Ritter, Ph.D., MSSW
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Opening Chapter Quote
"In these days of difficulty, we Americans
everywhere must and shall choose the path of
social justice, the path of faith, the path of hope
and the path of love toward our fellow men."
~President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Campaign
Address, Detroit, Michigan, October 2, 1932.
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This Week: History of Landmark
Social Welfare Legislation
• Early U.S. history (response to hardship and
poverty)
• Social reformers during the Progressive Era
• FDR’s New Deal
• LBJ’s War on Poverty and Great Society
• Reagan and the rise of conservatism
• The elections of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, &
Joe Biden
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Early History
• U.S. as “reluctant welfare state”
• Poverty as an individual failing
• “Worthy” versus “unworthy” poor
• No “social contract” between individuals and the
government
• Indoor relief & outdoor relief
• Freedman’s Bureau (first time federal funds used
to help people in need)
• Social Darwinism
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A Question the U.S. Has Always Grappled
With
Is it the role of the Government to help provide
for the general welfare of its citizens, and if so,
to what extent?
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Progressive Era (1890-1920)
• Increasing economic growth in the U.S due to
industrialization
• Immigration to the U.S.
• Growing social problems in cities (e.g., sanitation;
housing; crime)
• Exploitation of workers (sweatshops; unsafe conditions)
• Child labor
• Women and people of color treated as 2nd class citizens
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Settlement House Workers
• Differed in philosophy from • Honored the
the Charity Organization culture/customs of newly
Societies (COS) arriving immigrants
• Focused on changing the • Lived in the same
social environment community
• Poverty and lack of • They were privileged and
opportunity was the highly educated women
problem, not moral flaw in • Macro-level change efforts
their character including lobbying for
• Offered a holistic array of legislation
services • Gathered data to document
social problems
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Legislative Focus of Settlement Workers
• Immigrant rights
• Child labor
• Established juvenile court in the U.S.
• Women’s rights (suffrage; healthcare; daycare; birth
control)
• Worker safety and labor rights
• Old age pensions
• Improved sanitation and public health
• Housing safety
• Anti-war
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Jane Addams
• Co-founded Hull House in Chicago
• Peace activist
• First U.S. woman to be awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize (1931)
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Peace Delegates on Noordam
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peace_Delegates_on_NOORDAM_18848v.jpg.
Famous social worker and activist, Jane Addams
Figure 2.1 Copyright © Cognella, Inc.
Successes of These Early Social Workers?
• Much of the legislation they lobbied for was
either enacted at the local level or defeated
• But their efforts laid the groundwork for
strong federal legislation that would be passed
during the FDR presidency
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FDR’s “New Deal”
• Stock Market Crash of 1929 & Great
Depression
• Shift in thinking regarding role of federal
government
• Birth of the U.S Welfare State
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Very privileged background
• Disabled
• Charismatic, reassuring
• Elected 4 times to the Presidency
• Took action to provide relief to suffering
Americans
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New Deal Legislation
• Work relief programs (public works projects)
• Regulation of corporate America
• Restored confidence in the banking system
(FDIC)
• Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (minimum
wage; maximum work week; abolished child
labor)
• National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (collective
bargaining rights for unions)
• Established social safety net at the federal level
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Social Security Act of 1935
Unemployment
compensation
Aid to Families
Social Security with
Program Dependent
Children
Mix of social
insurance &
public
assistance
programs
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FDR Quote
“I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad,
and ill-nourished. The test of our progress is not
whether we add more to the abundance of
those who have much; it is whether we provide
enough for those who have too little." (1937)
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FDR Signing SSA of 1935
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVZijG4WSOw
Franklin D. Roosevelt, State of the Union Message to Congress. 1944.
FDR and Frances Perkins https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
Figure 2.2 File:Signing_Of_The_Social_Security_Act.j
pg.
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Harry Hopkins
Social worker hired by FDR to oversee several
federal government agencies that created work
relief programs for the unemployed
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About Frances Perkins
• Volunteered in settlement home movement
• Passionate advocate for the rights of workers and
abolition of child labor
• Witnessed the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911
• Worked for New York Governor FDR (NY
Consumers League)
• Secretary of Labor under President FDR (first
woman to work in a president’s cabinet)
• Chief architect of the Social Security Act of 1935
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FDR’s Bill of Economic Rights
• FDR proposed a constitutional amendment to
guarantee Americans the fundamental
economic rights (never adopted)
• Review excerpt in chapter
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LBJ’s “Great Society”
• Lots of social upheaval in the 1960s
• Thriving social movements
• Racial unrest and race riots
• Assassinations (JFK; Bobby Kennedy; Dr.
MLK, Jr.)
• Vietnam War & anti-war movement
• Cultural revolution: sex, drugs, and music
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LBJ with Social Worker Whitney Young and Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
LBJ with civil rights leaders https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lyndon_Johnson_meeting_with_civil_rights_leaders.jpg.
Figure 2.3
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Songs From This Era
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl-vbBnJ
3I
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6jKE6YIx
mc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxvVk-r9u
t8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyzUIEW-
Q5E
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About LBJ
• FDR was his hero
• Wanted to be president from a young age
(ambitious)
• Grew up poor in rural Texas
• First job was a teacher to poor Mexican
American children
• Lived and breathed politics
• Congressman; Senator; VP; and President
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LBJ on Education
“I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that
little Welhausen Mexican School, and I remember even yet
the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed
to practically every one of those children because they were
too poor. And I think it was then that I made up my mind that
this Nation could never rest while the door to knowledge
remained closed to any American. So here, today, back on the
campus of my youth, that door is swinging open far wider
than it ever did before.”
President Johnson’s Remarks at Southwest Texas State College
Upon Signing the Higher Education Act of 1965, Nov. 8, 1965
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About LBJ
• Lots of power as a U.S. Senator
• Came into office when JFK was assassinated
• After a long history of opposing civil rights
legislation, became the Civil Rights President
• Declared a “War on Poverty” through a vast
array of social welfare legislation
• Downfall: Vietnam War
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Civil Rights Legislation
• Civil Rights Act of • Voting Rights Act of
1964: Banned 1965: Outlawed
discrimination based practices to prevent
on race, color, African Americans
religion, sex, or
from voting (poll
national origin
taxes; literacy tests;
• Banned segregation
harassment; etc.)
(schools; public
accommodation)
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LBJ on Civil Rights
“Freedom is the right to share, share fully and equally, in American
society: to vote, to hold a job, to enter a public place, to go to school. It
is the right to be treated in every part of our national life as a person
equal in dignity and promise to all others.
But freedom is not enough. You do not wipe away the scars of
centuries by saying, "Now you are free to go where you want, and do
as you desire, and choose the leaders you please."
You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains
and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then
say, "You are free to compete with all the others," and still justly
believe that you have been completely fair.
Thus it is not enough just to open the gates of opportunity. All our
citizens must have the ability to walk through those gates.” (1965)
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LBJ’s “Great Society”
• Goal: Expanding • Federal funding for
opportunity to poor education (Head Start
and lower income program; K-12; college
Americans financial aid)
• Economic Opportunity • Job training programs
Act of 1964 (anti- • Food programs (Food
poverty programs) stamp program)
• Health care: creation of • Housing programs
Medicare & Medicaid • Programs for older adults
programs • (see full list in chapter)
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LBJ Quote
“I want to be the president who educated young
children to the wonders of their world. I want to be
the president who helped to feed the hungry and
to prepare them to be taxpayers instead of tax
eaters. I want to be the president who helped the
poor to find their own way and who protected the
right of every citizen to vote in every election.”
~President Johnson’s Voting Rights Address to
Congress, March 15, 1965.
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War LBJ’s War on Poverty Successful?
• Poverty not eradicated but was greatly
decreased (see data in chapter)
• Living standards of poor were improved but
many found themselves on the welfare rolls
• Great Society became overshadowed by War
in Vietnam
• Many of these programs still with us today
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Issues Tackled in These 3 Eras:
• Labor rights
• Children’s rights
• Women’s rights
• Civil rights
• Immigrant rights
• Poverty & income security
Which of these are still relevant for us
today?
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Advocacy Lessons Learned
• The importance of gathering data
and evidence in advocacy work
• Need to develop close working
relationships with those who are “Timing”
affected by social problems
• How a “crisis” can lead to Support by
Social
those in
social/policy change (e.g., Great Movements
power
Depression)
• The importance of social Social
movements Change!
• The importance of electing
leaders who have a strong sense
of social justice
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Rise of Conservatism (1980s)
• Limited role of government
• “Government is not the solution to our
problems, it is the problem”
• Fiscal conservativism: Government funding for
social programs cut significantly
• Trickle-down economics
• Rise of the Christian Religious Right in the U.S.
• Social conservatism: Same sex marriage; prayer
in schools; abortion
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President Obama
• Some movement back to the
Left
• Got U.S. out of major economic
recession
• Ramped down war in Iraq
• Appointed two women to the
Supreme Court
• Passed Affordable Care Act
• LGBTQ rights: Same sex
marriage legalized; Don’t Ask President Obama https://
Figure 2.4 commons.wikimedia.or
Don’t Tell repealed; Hate g/wiki/
File:Obama_swearing_i
crimes legislation now includes n.JPG.
sexual orientation
• Republican lawmakers refused
to work with him (Tea Party)
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Trump Presidency
• Most controversial president in modern U.S. history
• Draconian immigration policies
• Alienated U.S. allies
• Criticized for handling of covid pandemic
• Defeated by Joe Biden
• Trump supporters’ violent insurrection at the U.S. capitol,
January 6, 2021
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Discussion Questions pg 1 of 2
• After reading about the early settlement house workers, what do
you see as their contribution to and legacy in social work practice
in the United States? How has social work practice changed since
then?
• The United States has been called a “reluctant welfare state.” Do
you agree with social worker Frances Perkins’s opinion that the
United States would not have been able to pass the Social Security
Act without a cataclysmic event such as the Great Depression?
Why or why not?
• What do you think about the legislative priorities and
accomplishments of President Lyndon B. Johnson? Can you
imagine another U.S. president declaring a War on Poverty? How
was he able to successfully pass all of the Great Society legislation,
which was focused primarily on the disadvantaged?
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Discussion Questions pg 2 of 2
• As soon as President Obama and President Biden came into office,
they had to respond to a severe economic recession. In your
opinion, how do their legislative goals and strategies compare with
those of FDR, who was faced with the Great Depression? Compare
and contrast the approaches used by these three U.S. presidents.
• Why do you think most Americans do not know about the important
accomplishments and social reforms of social workers over the
course of U.S. history, such as Jane Addams, Harry Hopkins, Frances
Perkins, and Whitney Young? What can the social work profession
do better to educate the public about social workers’ contributions
to society?
• In your opinion, how will the controversial presidency of Donald
Trump be viewed by future historians? How do you think the four
years under President Trump has impacted U.S. politics and how
polarized Americans are politically?
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