SOCIAL SECURITY. The Federal Security Agency in the United States embraces five organizations concerned with social legislation. These member-agencies—Social Security Board, Pub lic Health Service, Office of Education, Civilian Conservation Corps, and National Youth Administration—were brought to gether under the new office of Federal security administrator by the President's reorganization plan, effective July 1, 1939.
This grouping of Federal services is a significant step in the de velopment of national social welfare provisions. It makes for economy and efficiency by co-ordinating Federal activities in re lated fields; and it focuses the increasing recognition of social legislation as a Federal concern. The purpose of the new agency, as stated by the President in presenting his reorganization plan to the Congress, is "to promote social and economic security, educa tional opportunity, and the health of the citizens of the Nation." Each of the member-agencies is responsible for specific measures relating to this general purpose : the Social Security Board for in surance against dependency due to unemployment, old age, or the death of the family wage-earner, and aid to certain groups of the needy ; the Public Health Service, for the promotion of preventive and protective health measures; the Office of Education for co operation in a variety of general educational activities and partic ularly in vocational education and vocational rehabilitation for the handicapped; the Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Youth Administration for providing training and work opportuni ties for needy youth.
Broad as these measures are, they do not cover the entire field of social legislation, or even of Federal participation in such activities. Generally speaking, social legislation may be said to include all laws looking toward protection against insecurity and want. In addition to those named above, labour regulation, recre ational and character-building services, general relief, child wel fare, housing, provision for medical care and disability insurance, and others might well be included.
The evolution of national social legislation in the United States has been uneven. Though it dates from the adoption of the Con stitution—which imposed upon Congress the duty "to provide for the common defence and general welfare"—its pace has lagged behind national needs. The forces which made such services and protections necessary on a nation-wide scale may be traced back a hundred years and more. But during that entire period other forces tended to retard the recognition of social welfare as a national problem.
Both social attitudes and Government organization placed a brake on development in this field. During the 19th century period of expansion, the vast land resources of the U.S. offered most peo ple a chance to obtain a reasonably adequate livelihood. The old agricultural economy set the pattern of life. Commerce and in dustry were conducted on a relatively simple scale, though business was expanding and mass production was on the horizon. As a result of this tremendous growth, opportunities "at the top" and in new forms of enterprise seemed practically inexhaustible.
This period was characterized by a generally accepted belief that personal initiative and industry were the only keys needed to unlock the doors of material success. This attitude tended to sup port the traditional belief that indigence is always synonymous with incompetence, and any aid given the financially unfortunate carried with it the taint of pauperism. Meantime, too, the tradi tional concept of public welfare as a function of local Government tended to retard progress. But gradually the old, exclusive reli ance on the town or county to provide for all welfare needs was breaking down, and as needs increased the States came to recog nize that they must share this responsibility with their local com munities. The same trends which made State participation neces sary were leading toward Federal co-operation in social legislation. But up until 1929 this fact was not generally recognized.