States of Dependency: Welfare, Rights, and American Governance, 1935–1972 (Studies in Legal History)

Who bears responsibility for the poor, and who may exercise the power that comes with that responsibility? Amid the Great Depression, American reformers answered this question in new ways, with profound effects on long-standing practices of governance and entrenched understandings of citizenship. States of Dependency traces New Deal welfare programs over the span of four decades, asking what happened as money, expertise and ideas travelled from a federal administrative epicenter in Washington, DC, through state and local bureaucracies, and into diverse and divided communities. Drawing on a wealth of previously un-mined legal and archival sources, Karen Tani reveals how reformers attempted to build a more bureaucratic, centralized and uniform public welfare system; how traditions of localism, federalism and hostility toward the 'undeserving poor' affected their efforts; and how, along the way, more and more Americans came to speak of public income support in the powerful but limiting language of law and rights. The resulting account moves beyond attacking or defending Americans' reliance on the welfare state to explore the complex network of dependencies undergirding modern American governance. Who Bears Responsibility For The Poor, And Who May Exercise The Power That Comes With That Responsibility? Amidst The Great Depression, American Reformers Answered This Question In New Ways, With Profound Effects On Longstanding Practices Of Governance And Entrenched Understandings Of Citizenship. States Of Dependency Traces New Deal Welfare Programs Over The Span Of Four Decades And Into Communities Around The Nation, From American Indian Reservations In The Southwest To Agrarian Stretches Of Middle America, And To The Metropolises Of The Industrial North. Drawing On A Wealth Of Previously Un-mined Legal And Archival Sources, Karen Tani Reveals How Reformers Attempted To Build A More Bureaucratic, Centralized, And Uniform Public Welfare System; How Traditions Of Localism, Federalism, And Hostility Towards The 'undeserving Poor' Affected Their Efforts; And How, Along The Way, More And More Americans Came To Speak Of Public Income Support In The Powerful But Limiting Language Of Law And Rights-- As President John F. Kennedy Declared The Nation At A Promising And Perilous New Frontier-a Turning-point In History--newburgh, New York, Seemed To Belong In The Proverbial Dust Heap With The Rest Of The Detritus Of The Past. Once The Headquarters For George Washington And The Continental Army, And Later A Hub For Industry And Transportation, Newburgh Was Falling Into Ruin. Its Population Was Declining, Its Housing Stock Decaying, And Its Economy Failing. City Manager Joseph Mcdowell Mitchell Claimed To Know Exactly Whom To Blame: The City's Hundreds Of Chiselers And Loafers, Freeload[ing] Migrants, Social Parasites, And Illegitimate Children. They Burned Through Taxpayer Dollars, He Alleged, Bringing In Return Only Crime, Blight, And Immoral Behavior. If Newburgh Could Simply Reassert Traditional, Local Controls Over The Poor, He Insisted, The City Would Recover Its Former Glory-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Introduction; Part I: Introduction; 1. A New Deal For Poor Relief? The Modern American State And The Endurance Of The Local; 2. An 'appeal To Attitude': Rights As An Administrative Tool; 3. Human Needs And Legal Rights: Competing Visions Of Governance In 1940s Welfare Administration; 4. Claiming Welfare Rights: Fair Hearings, State-court Claims, And A Forgotten Federal Case; Part Ii: Introduction; 5. Dependency And Its Discontents: The Fractious Politics Of Federal Grants; 6. States' Rights Meet Welfare Rights: Federal Administrative Enforcement In The Age Of Rehabilitation And Resistance; 7. Unsuitable Homes, Undeserving Fathers, And The Administrative Origins Of Poverty Law; 8. Subjects Of The Constitution, Slaves To Statutes: The Judicial Articulation Of Welfare Rights; Conclusion; Appendix. Figures And Tables. Karen M. Tani. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents Figures and Tables Gallery images Acknowledgments cbo9781139924665.001 Introduction part i 1935 to 1949 1 A New Deal for Poor Relief? 2 Rights as an Administrative Tool 3 Rights as a “Live, Motivating Principle” 4 Claiming Welfare Rights part ii 1950 to 1972 5 States’ Rights against Federal Administrative Enforcement 6 Rights against the State(s) 7 Welfare Rights outside the Courts 8 Subjects of the Constitution, Slaves to Statutes Conclusion Selected Bibliography of Primary Sources Index Gallery