The first Social Welfare System Organized in the United States

In order to understand social welfare and its various systems in the United States, one must look to the past and see the history of social welfare in the U.S.

The first organized system of social welfare in the U.S. was introduced during President Franklin Roosevelt's term in office. His plan was called the New Deal, it was put into place 1933 after the Great Depression. The New Deal enacted  more than a dozen acts, some including  the Unemployment Relief Act. The Unemployment Relief act created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to provide jobs for the unemployed young men in public works and conservation projects. The young men earned $35 a month, which was a godsend to their very poor families.

The Social Security System was started by The Social Security Act of 1935, this act launched a federal-state program of worker's pensions, unemployment insurance, survivors'  benefit for the victims of industrial accidents, and aid for disabled persons and dependent mothers with children. All of these were funded by taxes paid partly by workers and partly by employers. However, this cut in take-home pay was a factor that helped bring on an economic recession in 1937.

The initial Social Security Act paid low benefits and bypassed farmers, domestic workers, and the self-employed, but it established the principle of federal responsibility for social welfare and laid the foundation for the much expanded welfare system that we have today.