Poverty In America

Poverty has been a persistent issue in the United States. In 2016, 40.6 million people were below the U.S poverty line (US Census, 2018). Since the 1930’s, the federal government has been battling poverty. This first occurred in the early 1910’s when state governments in the south began developing systems and programs that gave citizens opportunities to work. For example, social security was an early system, which then spread north to other states and eventually was adopted by the federal government. President Roosevelt approved the Social Security Bill into law, in August of 1935. That is one of the many programs that gave Americans the ability to work, in an attempt to eliminate poverty as much as possible. However, throughout the 20th century, …show more content…
Four of the five poorest states now, once existed in the Old Confederacy. This resulted from the aftermath of the Civil War. Poverty began early in the history of America in the south. After the end of the Civil War, and the emancipation of african-american slaves, southern states suffered economically. Slavery was the source of the South’s economic affluence, and many were put into poverty as they lost their labor force. Many widows and their families also became poor from the heavy casualty rate that resulted from the Civil War. Instead of growing resources for themselves, many farmers and planters began Sharecropping. Sharecropping was when both landowners could share each others crops that they had produced on their portion of the land. It dominated the cotton and tobacco industry in the south, however, it didn’t manage to increase or restore the South’s economic prosperity. Only when the South rejoined the Union, were they able to minimize the amount of …show more content…
Housing Authority, and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, these policies didn’t apply to all Americans. Theses policies did not apply to people of color. Around the same time that Lyndon B. Johnson declared “war on poverty” in 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference created the Poor People’s Campaign. The Poor People’s Campaign consisted of cross-racial Americans in poverty demanding for better living conditions. Furthermore, in 1966 the Job Corps was created by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to give youth vocational and academic training. In 1979, Ronald Reagan campaigned for a welfare reform, as he felt that many individuals exploited government assistance programs. He wanted to change the way the conservative government values were presented. This perspective granted a welfare program in 1996. This benefited those who could not afford health care, the federal government began paying 9 out of 10 hospital bills through medicare. Giving an advantage to elderly, ill, and poor. In August, 1996 Bill Clinton signed a bill overhauling the welfare system. Thus, causing requirements in order to acquire insurance and unemployment

Show More

Related Documents: Poverty In America