The American Dole: Unemployment Relief and the Welfare State in the Great Depression, Vol. 189

Review
This well-researched, dense monograph challenges many of the historical interpretations of the oigins of the US welfare state, focusing mainly on the unemployment relief system of the early Depression years, 1932-35....This revisionist work should be read by anyone interested in the history of the US social welfare state. Upper-division undergraduate and graduate libraries.Choice

Book Description
Singleton examines the origins and implementation of the first federal welfare programs in the early 1930s. Based on his extensive research in the archives of federal welfare agencies, Singleton seeks to link the expansion and federalization of relief with recent efforts to reform "welfare."

About the Author
JEFF SINGLETON has taught American history at a number of universities and community colleges. He also has done research for and been active in community organizations, advocacy groups, and human services organizations. He presently is teaching at Boston College.


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This study challenges some of the myths surrounding the relief system of the early depression years: the myth of the traditional "voluntarism" of the Hoover years; the myth of the New Deal welfare "entitlement;" and the myth that the Social Security Act enshrined a "two-tiered" welfare state in American social policy. Contains chapters on unemployment relief and the welfare state, the national dole, work relief, and ending the dole as we know it. Singleton teaches American history at Boston College. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)


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