John Mendez Mr. Rinard AP US History Period 4 New Deal The Depression of the 1930s was so severe that for the first time a system of welfare payments was introduced in the US to help the unemployed. At first, this came in the form of the government providing the states with funds to distribute; when this proved ineffective, the government launched its own work schemes. These measures, however, did not provide the economic stability that …showed first 75 words of 676 total…

…showed last 75 words of 676 total…Great Society of the 1960's that a more comprehensive system of payments was introduced. Even then these came in the form of amendments to and modifications of the original Social Security Act, which can still be seen as the basis for today's system. Thus perhaps it would be fairer to lay the blame for the shortcomings of the act at those who did everything in their power to block its progress through the legislative process.