As noted in Chapter 5, the American welfare system evolved
from the Social Security Act of 1935. In many ways, the wel-
fare system that developed over the next sixty years was to-
tally at odds with the original intentions of the creators of the Social
Security Act. Roosevelt and his allies feared welfare, believing that it
eroded personal responsibility ( Israel, 1966). Their goal was to provide
work-relief for the able-bodied poor, while offering welfare assistance
only to that small group of mothers with dependent children who had
lost their spouses. But, with the enormous growth of single-mother
families, the welfare system grew in ways that the Roosevelt admin-
istration never imagined. Not only did millions of single mothers--
many of whom had children out of wedlock--become welfare recip-
ients, but also a small percentage became long-term users. A system
that supported poor mothers outside the job market became increas-
ingly unpopular over time, especially since nonpoor mothers were
joining the workforce in record numbers ( Bernstein and Garfinkel,
1977, 155).

As far back as the Kennedy administration ( 1961-63), there has
been recognition that the welfare system required reform. President
Kennedy proposed that Congress pass legislation supporting employ-
ment by welfare recipients and the unemployed. Congress passed a

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