The Segregated Origins of Social Security - by Mary Poole (Paperback)

About the Book

Segregated Origins of Social Security: African Americans and the Welfare State

Book Synopsis

The relationship between welfare and racial inequality has long been understood as a fight between liberal and conservative forces. In The Segregated Origins of Social Security, Mary Poole challenges that basic assumption. Meticulously reconstructing the behind-the-scenes politicking that gave birth to the 1935 Social Security Act, Poole demonstrates that segregation was built into the very foundation of the welfare state because white policy makers--both liberal and conservative--shared an interest in preserving white race privilege.

Although northern white liberals were theoretically sympathetic to the plight of African Americans, Poole says, their primary aim was to save the American economy by salvaging the pride of America's "essential" white male industrial workers. The liberal framers of the Social Security Act elevated the status of Unemployment Insurance and Social Security--and the white workers they were designed to serve--by differentiating them from welfare programs, which served black workers.

Revising the standard story of the racialized politics of Roosevelt's New Deal, Poole's arguments also reshape our understanding of the role of public policy in race relations in the twentieth century, laying bare the assumptions that must be challenged if we hope to put an end to racial inequality in the twenty-first.

Review Quotes

"Makes an important contribution to an understanding of the cultural, social and political factors that contributed to the adoption of the Social Security Act. . . . [Poole's] meticulous scholarship and attention to detail sets an exemplary standard for future research."
-- "Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare"

"A long overdue book. . . . A detailed reading. . . . No one interested in the foundations of the modern U.S. welfare state can afford to ignore [Poole's] analysis."
-- "The Journal of Social History"

"This well-researched book makes a valuable addition to our knowledge of the racial origins of the welfare state."
-- "American Historical Review"