Harry Hopkins: Sudden Hero, Brash Reformer (the World Of The Roosevelts)

Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-7 From the Dakotas to Grinnell, Iowa....Pages 9-32 Hopkins at Christodora House....Pages 33-53 Poverty and Unemployment in New York City....Pages 55-70 The New York City Charities Controversy....Pages 71-89 Widows’ Pensions....Pages 91-123 War Welfare and Public Health....Pages 125-148 The Great Depression and Work-Relief....Pages 149-173 Economic and Social Security....Pages 175-200 Conclusion....Pages 201-207 Back Matter....Pages 208-271 From 1912 to 1940, social worker Harry Hopkins committed himself to the ideal of government responsibility for impoverished Americans. This look at Hopkins' life and social work career broadens our understanding of the political and cultural currents that led to the Social Security Act of 1935, the bedrock of the American welfare state. Hopkins' experiences as an advocate and administrator of work relief and widows' pensions in New York City during the Progressive Era informed his contribution to welfare legislation during the New Deal years. Written by his granddaughter June Hopkins, this book not only clarifies the emergence of welfare policy but sheds considerable light on the present welfare debate. It also illuminates the life of one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. From 1912 to 1940, social worker Harry Hopkins committed himself to the ideal of governmental aid and care for impoverished Americans. During the Progressive era, Hopkins worked as an advocate for and administrator of work-relief and widows' pensions in New York City. Those formative experiences profoundly influenced his contribution to welfare legislation during the New Deal years - including the landmark Social Security Act of 1935, the bedrock of the American welfare state ONE HOT SUMMER DAY IN 1935, federal relief administrator Harry Hopkins presented his plan for alleviating the effects of the Great Depression to a group of shirt-sleeved Iowa farmers, not noted for their liberal ideas.