- The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- The Fragmented American Welfare State: Putting the Pieces Together
- Social Provision before the Twentieth Century
- The Progressive Era
- The Great Depression and World War II
- From the Fair Deal to the Great Society
- The U.S. Welfare State Since 1970
- A Cross-National Perspective on the American Welfare State
- Cultural Influences on Social Policy Development
- Political Institutions and U.S. Social Policy
- Political Parties and Social Policy
- Interest Groups
- Constituencies and Public Opinion
- Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Social Policy
- Gender
- Social Security
- Private Pensions
- Medicare
- Long-Term Care for the Elderly
- Medicaid
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- The Politics of Supporting Low-Wage Workers and Families
- Food Assistance Programs and Food Security
- Public Housing and Vouchers
- Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income
- Workers’ Compensation
- Unemployment Insurance
- Care and Work-Family Policies
- Homeownership Policy
- Private Health Insurance: Tax Breaks, Regulation, and Politics
- Pension and Health Benefits for Public-Sector Workers
- Social Programs for Soldiers and Veterans
- Poverty
- Inequality
- Citizenship
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
During the Progressive Era (from the 1890s and to the 1920s), American social reformers invented ways to overcome Constitutional constraints on national action, the limited abilities of state governments, the separation of government powers, and patronage-based political parties. These reformers built new public agencies and reform networks, used grants-in-aid to engage state action, pressed for uniform laws across the states, and urged a leadership role for elected executives. But Constitutional restrictions (as exemplified by the failed campaign against child labor) and trade unions’ refusal to support some reforms (such as health and unemployment insurance) sank important social-policy campaigns. Progressive reformers were most successful in securing maternalist social policy that limited women’s work hours and those of widows with children. The Progressive Era left a legacy of strikingly uneven social provision and stark racial and gender divisions.
Keywords: Progressive Era, maternalism, grants-in-aid, unions, uniform laws, child labor, health insurance, unemployment insurance
David Brian Robertson is the Curators' Teaching Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri‐St. Louis.
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- The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Social Policy
- List of Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- The Fragmented American Welfare State: Putting the Pieces Together
- Social Provision before the Twentieth Century
- The Progressive Era
- The Great Depression and World War II
- From the Fair Deal to the Great Society
- The U.S. Welfare State Since 1970
- A Cross-National Perspective on the American Welfare State
- Cultural Influences on Social Policy Development
- Political Institutions and U.S. Social Policy
- Political Parties and Social Policy
- Interest Groups
- Constituencies and Public Opinion
- Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Social Policy
- Gender
- Social Security
- Private Pensions
- Medicare
- Long-Term Care for the Elderly
- Medicaid
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- The Politics of Supporting Low-Wage Workers and Families
- Food Assistance Programs and Food Security
- Public Housing and Vouchers
- Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income
- Workers’ Compensation
- Unemployment Insurance
- Care and Work-Family Policies
- Homeownership Policy
- Private Health Insurance: Tax Breaks, Regulation, and Politics
- Pension and Health Benefits for Public-Sector Workers
- Social Programs for Soldiers and Veterans
- Poverty
- Inequality
- Citizenship
- Index
