The Early Transformation of Social Welfare

By: Katy Fedurek

Our society is ever changing, especially when it comes to the needs of humans. Large events like war, the Great Depression, terrorist attacks and natural disasters affect humans in different ways, calling for social workers to do their part to help society. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, social welfare is organized public or private social services for the assistance of disadvantaged groups. Abraham Maslow explained human needs in relation to a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid is physiological needs which are the most important, especially in times of disaster; food, water, rest, and warmth are the most basic needs to stay alive. A need for safety is second, and a need for belongingness and love comes third in the pyramid (McLeod). Following a need for love is esteem needs or a feeling of accomplishment, and at the top of the pyramid is self-actualization, but not everyone reaches this stage. “Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by a failure to meet lower level needs” (McLeod). Depending on the dominant political party in the United States, the help that citizens need changes. If the country is more conservative, the responsibility of the human belongs to the individual and their family. In this case, the government only takes control over the basic needs of its citizens. (Morales, Sheafor, Scott). If the country is more liberal than conservative, there is a larger role within the government for meeting basic needs as well as needs of belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. With a liberal point of view, the government would also provide social welfare programs and help with global issues (Morales, Sheafor, Scott).

Early on, the United States was made up of rural areas where people depended on their intermediate families and they all worked together on their farms (Morales, Sheafor, Scott). Once the industrial area hit in the 1800s, family members did not all live together anymore because they had to move to different cities to find jobs, therefore mutual support became less attainable. Early social welfare programs started but they were affected by the Puritan ethic. This ethic stated that only people with good morals that worshiped God deserved assistance. People who failed were viewed as sinful and unmoral. The first public social service help was created off public volunteer work (Morales, Sheafor, Scott). This was based on the idea of the French Enlightenment; this viewpoint was the opposite of the Puritan ethic. Around 1861 Dorothea Dix was one of the first social reformers to make a huge impact. She started to advocate for the government helping people with their basic needs. The federal government at the time was against providing human services, so states started welfare departments and set up volunteer boards. In 1929, the Great Depression became a major turning point for social welfare because everyone was equal; everyone needed help in some way (Morales, Sheafor, Scott). By 1960, the economy was recovered economically and this started the Human Rights Revolution while Kennedy and Johnson were in office. This revolution focused on women, mentally ill, the poor and minorities. This was a major turning point and laws were passed protecting civil rights and social welfare programs were made within the federal government. Once Reagan came into office, these programs set up by Kennedy started to diminish because of his conservative viewpoint (Morales, Sheafor, Scott).

source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-politicalscience/chapter/functions-of-bureaucracy/

While writing this blog post, I learned how much our government controls social welfare laws and programs. Depending on if the president is conservative or liberal our government really affects social workers. I chose to talk about this topic because my Introduction to Social Work class has been discussing the effect on the government for a couple weeks now. This topic is interesting because it shows how social work relates to our society.

Works Cited

Sheafor, Bradford W., Aarmando T. Morales, and Malcolm E. Scott. "Social Welfare: A Response 
to Human Need." 

Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces. N.p.: Allyn & Bacon, 2012. N. pag. Print.