THE NEW DEAL-- THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT OF 1935 gggff

Although the domestic New Deal encompassed a wide-range of political and programmatic activities as the Administration sought to provide relief, recovery and reform in the midst of the Great Depression, one of the most central aspects of that broad agenda was the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935. This section provides background information on the development of the Social Security Act.

	Suggestions for Additional Reading:
	I.M. Rubinow, Social Insurance: with Special Reference to American Conditions, New York, Henry Holt, 1913.
	Abraham Epstein, Facing Old Age, New York, Knopf, 1922.
	Clarke Chambers, Seedtime of Reform, Greenwood Press edition, 1980.
	Roy Lubove, The Struggle for Social Security, 1900-1935, Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1986.
	Jill Quadagno, The Transformation of Old Age Security: Class and Politics in the American Welfare State, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1988.
	Edward D. Berkowitz, America's Welfare State: From Roosevelt to Reagan, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.

Source Documents:
	Social Security in America (1937) This major book by the U.S. Social Security Board documents the research undertaken by the President's Committee on Economic Security as background to the development of the Social Security Act of 1935. It is nothing short of the intellectual case for that legislation.
	"The Early Development of the American Welfare State, Leading to the U.S. Social Security Act of 1935", by Larry DeWitt This brief summary essay details some of the highlights in the development of the American welfare state as it led to the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935.
	A Brief History of Social Security, by Larry DeWitt This brief summary essay details the development of the Social Security program from its passage in 1935 to the present, as this program is a central pillar in the edifice of the New Deal.
	Full Text of the Social Security Act of 1935 This foundational document in the history of the American welfare state is reproduced here in full, along with some background information.
	The 1937 Supreme Court Rulings on the Social Security Act, by Larry DeWitt In this essay I provide the historical context and a brief introduction to the Supreme Court cases as an aid to interpreting the Court's decisions.
	Supreme Court Rulings on Constitutionality of Social Security Act This is the full text of the 1937 Supreme Court decisions regarding the Social Security Act.
	"The Roots of Social Security"-- Speech by Frances Perkins (1962) Delivered at Social Security Administration Headquarters, Baltimore, Maryland October 23, 1962.