A
major thrust toward establishing the welfare state came swiftly in 1933.
In a special session, which lasted from March 9 through June 16, 1933,
Congress, prodded by the President, asserted the authority of the federal
government over the American economy in an unprecedented fashion. Never
before, certainly not in time of peace, had such far-reaching legislation
been passed by any Congress. The swiftness of it has led some historians
to ponder whether or not it was a revolution. In the traditional meaning
of the term, it certainly was not a revolution. That is, it was not a successful
revolt against the established authority, carried out by force of arms.
If, however, the term be taken to signify a swift, as opposed to a gradual
change, the change in direction was made quickly, and it did have a considerable
impact on the country. Actually, some of the central pieces of legislation
to come out of the first hundred days of the New Deal were later held to
be unconstitutional, and the particular approaches were abandoned. But
the premise of the welfare state was vigorously asserted, and it became
established. The premise of the welfare state in the United States is that
the federal government is basically responsible for the material well-being
of the American people.
During the 1930s this premise became so well established
that it had not been dislodged by the mid-1980s. President after President
has affirmed the premise, and Congress and the courts have acted upon it.
Grover Cleveland once asked, "If the government supports the people,
who will support the government?" His meaning was this: The government
is wholly dependent upon tax receipts (or occasionally other types of payments)
for its revenues. It is a nonsensical reversal of roles for the people
to be dependent upon the government for their material well-being. To put
it yet another way, the government produces no goods; rather, it consumes
some portion of the goods taken from people. It can only play a larger
role by increasing the portion that it takes and thus reducing the amount
available to people generally. Cleveland's question still wants a satisfactory
answer, but a welfare state has been established based upon the premise
that government will provide for a vast assortment of material and other
needs. The Great Depression, as it came to be called, was the occasion
for the establishment of the welfare state. It served, or was used, as
the catalytic agent for a massive assertion of governmental power. The
economic difficulties which many Americans were experiencing gave an opportunity
for the coalescing of reformers, radical and otherwise...........
A
major thrust toward establishing the welfare state came swiftly in 1933.
In a special session, which lasted from March 9 through June 16, 1933,
Congress, prodded by the President, asserted the authority of the federal
government over the American economy in an unprecedented fashion. Never
before, certainly not in time of peace, had such far-reaching legislation
been passed by any Congress. The swiftness of it has led some historians
to ponder whether or not it was a revolution. In the traditional meaning
of the term, it certainly was not a revolution. That is, it was not a successful
revolt against the established authority, carried out by force of arms.
If, however, the term be taken to signify a swift, as opposed to a gradual
change, the change in direction was made quickly, and it did have a considerable
impact on the country. Actually, some of the central pieces of legislation
to come out of the first hundred days of the New Deal were later held to
be unconstitutional, and the particular approaches were abandoned. But
the premise of the welfare state was vigorously asserted, and it became
established. The premise of the welfare state in the United States is that
the federal government is basically responsible for the material well-being
of the American people.