From Welfare to Workfare - (Gender and American Culture) by Jennifer Mittelstadt (Paperback)

About the Book

From Welfare to Workfare: The Unintended Consequences of Liberal Reform, 1945-1965

Book Synopsis

In 1996, Democratic president Bill Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress "ended welfare as we know it" and trumpeted "workfare" as a dramatic break from the past. But, in fact, workfare was not new. Jennifer Mittelstadt locates the roots of the 1996 welfare reform many decades in the past, arguing that women, work, and welfare were intertwined concerns of the liberal welfare state beginning just after World War II.

Mittelstadt examines the dramatic reform of Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) from the 1940s through the 1960s, demonstrating that in this often misunderstood period, national policy makers did not overlook issues of poverty, race, and women's role in society. Liberals' public debates and disagreements over welfare, however, caused unintended consequences, she argues, including a shift toward conservatism. Rather than leaving ADC as an income support program for needy mothers, reformers recast it as a social services program aimed at "rehabilitating" women from "dependence" on welfare to "independence," largely by encouraging them to work. Mittelstadt reconstructs the ideology, implementation, and consequences of rehabilitation, probing beneath its surface to reveal gendered and racialized assumptions about the welfare poor and broader societal concerns about poverty, race, family structure, and women's employment.

Review Quotes

"In her insightful and original examination of welfare politics after World War II, Mittlelstadt explains how modern so-called 'welfare reformers' could successfully hijack a nuanced 'liberal' family policy to the detriment of those whom the law intended to help. Her extensively researched discussion makes a crucial contribution to the evolution of welfare policy."
"Cynthia Harrison, The George Washington University"

"["From Welfare to Workforce: The Unintended Consequences of Liberal Reform"] is an important contribution to the growing historiography of American social welfare history. . . . Mittelstadt's book serves as a strong reminder that the years from 1945 to 1965 were a significant period in the history of social welfare policy."
-- "American Historical Review"

"A subtly argued and convincing account of the ways in which liberal reformers like Wilbur Cohen and social work professionals . . . unwittingly participated in the ending of welfare payments and the substitution of work-based programs. . . . An excellent example of the ways in which careful historical research and writing can illuminate a very complicated and contentious issue."
-- "Historian"

"Well-organized. . . . Valuable. . . . . Will appeal to readers interested in women and poverty, reform and the policymaking process, the influence of economy on government, and the intricacies of federal welfare law."
-- "Business History Review"

About the Author

Jennifer Mittelstadt is assistant professor of history and women's studies at Pennsylvania State University.