Transcript From World War to Great Society

From World War to
Great Society
Trattner 14
Retreat from Reform
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Much government involvement in 1930s
By 1940s SW returned to casework and
abandoned reform efforts
Perception that poverty taken care of
Full employment and rising incomes, even for
minorities
(Fair Employment Practices in defense
industries)
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SW used to dealing with middle class clients
through wartime Red Cross activities
Found private practice rewarding, financially
and professionally
Post war rise of conservative groups
(corporate and military sector)
Cold War and persecution of radicals
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Poor were scattered and invisible
Galbraith wrote of The Affluent Society
As AFDC population changed, movement to
remove poor from rolls
Newburgh, N.Y. thwarted in efforts to
implement TANF-like policies
Some Criticism of Situation
from Social Work and Allies
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Social work educators urged social action
Whitney Young spoke of “lost heritage”
Saul Alinsky spoke of poverty and organizing
to counter it
Adlai Stevenson (1956) showed concern for
poor
Some Expansion of Benefits
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Disability insurance added in 1956
Social services added to AFDC
GI Bill, School Lunch, Full Employment,
Housing, Vocational Rehab added during 40s
and 50s
Continuing optimism that poverty would
disappear
1960s Return to Concern for
Poor
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Foreign aid made folks wonder about
domestic needs
Poverty an embarrassment in Cold War
Kennedy favored social action
Agricultural revolution reduced need for farm
labor --thus urbanization of poor
Strong increase in welfare expenditures
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Relationship between civil rights issues and
poverty highlighted
1960 census and Michael Harrington brought
information about poverty and the “invisible
poor”
Explosion of riots in mid 1960s eliminated
invisibility and cited “white racism” as major
problem
Kennedy’s New Frontier
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AFDC for 2 parent families with
unemployment
Measures to combat juvenile delinquency,
CMHC Act
Social Service Amendments (1962) provided
for social work services for the poor
Area Redevelopment Act (regional
unemployment)
Johnson Takes Over - 1964
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War on Poverty begins in response to 20%
poverty rate
Economic Opportunity Act, VISTA, Job
Corps, Upward Bound, Neighborhood Youth
Corps, Head Start, Community Action
Program
Education, training and social services to
facilitate transition from welfare to work
War on Poverty
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Under funded and caught in bureaucratic
hassles
Dismembered beginning in 1966
Other Johnson Era Initiatives
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Food Stamp Act 1964
Medicare and Medicaid 1965
Model Cities
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Older Americans Act
Poverty Had Not Disappeared
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People saw AFDC recipients as self-perpetuating
and deviant, and the image of the poor became
the African American
AFL-CIO rosters had previously prevented nonwhite membership; no jobs without union
membership.
Social service amendments seen as failures
Move from casework to “hard services” (housing,
day care, drug rehab)
Work Incentive Program (no welfare without work
or training)
Time of Social Change and
Upheaval
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Civil Rights Act 1964
Voting Rights 1965
Women’s Movement
Gay Liberation Movement
Anti-War Movement
Student movement & drug culture
Nixon elected in 1968 by “silent majority”
**Extra credit: 2 pts for a 1 page reaction to the movie “Milk”**