federal government did however provide assistance for selected groups such as veterans. Jane Addams, a social worker at Hull House in Chicago began the settlement house movement. It addressed the needs of the immigrants from southern Europe entering the country in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.Greater federal involvement in social welfare services did not begin until the New Deal legislation. Due to the extensive effects of the Great Depression, the view of blaming the poor for their conditions was put aside. The Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps are two examples of government employment programs. These were created work activities intended to be temporary in nature, and to let some individuals earn income instead of relying on charity.The next significant act in the history of social welfare is the Social Security Act. It is explained to be the “most significant piece of legislation enacted in the U.S. because it recognized that unemployment is the result of an ever-shifting market-place and because it was designed to be a permanent resource system administered by the federal government”.Finally, there is the post-social security era. During this time many important things took place. During the years Johnson was president there was a period of broadening government involvement in social welfare. It was during this time that the Great Society and the War on Poverty extended benefits to the poor. The Economic Opportunities Act of 1964 focused on going past the traditional definition of the individual nature of poverty. It did this by changing the institutional structures that had failed to provide opportunities for all citizens. During the Vietnam War the focus was taken off of these new programs and the Nixon administration saw the fall of many of them. During both the Nixon and Reagan administrations, many of the New Deal and Great Society programs were done away ...
