Gender and the Politics of Welfare Reform: Mothers’ Pensions in Chicago, 1911-1929

Document Type

Monograph

Publication Date

6-21-1997

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Publisher Location

Chicago, IL

First page number:

1

Last page number:

298

Abstract

The first study to explore the origins of welfare in the context of local politics, this book examines the first public welfare policy created specifically for mother-only families. Chicago initiated the largest mothers' pension program in the United States in 1911. Evolving alongside movements for industrial justice and women's suffrage, the mothers' pension movement hoped to provide "justice for mothers" and protection from life's insecurities. However, local politics and public finance derailed the policy, and most women were required to earn. Widows were more likely to receive pensions than deserted women and unwed mothers. And African-American mothers were routinely excluded because they were proven breadwinners yet did not compete with white men for jobs. Ultimately, the once-uniform commitment to protect motherhood faltered on the criteria of individual support, and wage-earning became a major component of the policy.

This revealing study shows how assumptions about women's roles have historically shaped public policy and sheds new light on the ongoing controversy of welfare reform.

Keywords

Finance; Public; Low-income single mothers; Mothers' pensions; Public welfare; Single mothers; Single mothers--Economic conditions; Single mothers--Services for; Social service; Women; Women--Suffrage

Disciplines

Public Affairs | Public Policy | Social Policy | Social Welfare | United States History | Women's History | Women's Studies

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.


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