social security act of 1935

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The name for FDR's plan to address the problems of the Great Depression

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The 3 R's of the New Deal

​Social Security Act of 1935

• ​Problem: With unemployment still high during the Great Depression, it was difficult for young workers to find work as old Americans need to support themselves and their families as well.

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• Solution: Social Security would allow workers to retire at 65 which opened up more work for younger workers.

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• How it worked: ​Workers would have money taken out of their paychecks throughout their lifetime to pay for the system (Social Security Tax). They would receive financial benefits when they reached retirement age.

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Multiple Choice

What problem did Social Security address?

• Providing benefits to all Americans

• Allowing old-age workers to retire to create new jobs

• Removing worker dependency on the government

• Providing access to home loans for all Americans

Multiple Choice

True/False: Workers would pay into Social Security as they work during their lives.

• True

• False

​The Bill included:

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• an old-age pension program

• unemployment insurance funded by employers

• health insurance for people in financial distress

• financial assistance for widows with children

• financial assistance for individuals with disabilities

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After much debate, Congress passed the Social Security Act to provide benefits to retirees based on their earnings history and on August 14, 1935, Roosevelt signed it into law. This firmly placed the burden of economic security for American citizens on the federal government’s shoulders.

​Very controversial!

​Many people were angry that the government had taken control of the retirement system. They did not want to have a mandatory tax to pay into this system.

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Others said that the benefits did not go far enough, as at first, self-employed workers, field workers, and domestic servants were not included in the benefits. ​

​Document A

​Social Security Act of 1935

Document A: FDR (Modified)

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave this speech on August 14, 1935 when he signed the Social Security Act.

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We have waited for this day a long time. Life today is too unpredictable. Young people have come to wonder what would happen to them in old age. The man with a job has wondered how long the job would last.

This social security measure gives some protection to 30 million of Americans who will receive benefits through unemployment checks, through old-age pensions, and through increased services for the protection of children and the prevention of ill health.

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This law will act as a protection for us all. It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide the United States a good economic structure.

Multiple Choice

According to FDR, the following groups are included in Social Security benefits EXCEPT

• Old-age people

• Children

• Unemployed

• Farmers

​Document B

​Americans sent thousands of letters to the White House during FDR’s presidency and many were addressed to Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady. This letter was written in 1937.

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Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,

I was simply astounded to think that anyone could be stupid enough to wish to be included in the so-called social security act if they could possibly avoid it. Call it by any name you wish, but it is, in my opinion (and that of many people I know), nothing but downright stealing.

Personally, I have been saving my money so I can have enough money for old age. Now thanks to the President, I cannot be sure of anything. I have to give all these new taxes to support this.

Believe me, the only thing we want from the president is for him to LOWER taxes, not RAISE taxes.

I am just an ordinary worker at $1600 per year. Please show this to the president and ask him to remember the wishes of the forgotten man, that is, the one who dared to vote against him. We expect to be trampled on but we do wish the stepping would be a little less hard.

This might help some people, but how much freedom are we losing? Just another way for people to owe money to the government. 

Multiple Choice

Which best summarizes why the author of Document B was against Social Security?

• It needs to provide more benefits.

• The author does not want to be forced to pay more taxes.

• Social Security should have been created long ago.

• The author is not included in the benefits.

​Document C

President Roosevelt signed his Social Security bill in 1935. Congress held committee hearings on the bill. Here, a representative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a group dedicated to advancing the rights of African Americans, talked about how the bill excluded certain groups of people.

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The point that I am making is that in order for a person to qualify for Social Security, taxes must be paid on behalf of this person before he turns 60. Now, for the benefit of African Americans, I want to ask, who would be left out by that rule? First, and very serious, people who work on farms would be left out. We all know that the African American farmer is at the bottom of the economic scale. He is not employed. He barely makes wages. He has no way of paying into this system. Therefore this population is left out from the old-age benefits, and that represents approximately 490,000 African Americans.

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Next, domestic helpers won’t benefit because the record keeping of hiring domestic help is very loose. Many work off the books. Especially true for African Americans. In addition to that, this old-age benefit does not provide for unemployed persons. African Americans have suffered from unemployment more than any other group of people.

Open Ended

Summarize why the author of this letter is critical of Social Security.