Gender and the politics of welfare reform : mothers' pensions in Chicago, 1911-1929
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Gender and the politics of welfare reform : mothers' pensions in Chicago, 1911-1929
（Women in culture and society : a series / edited by Catharine R. Stimpson）
University of Chicago Press, 1997
- : cloth
- : paper
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-277) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: cloth ISBN 9780226303925
Description
Exploring the origins of welfare in the context of local politics, this book examines the first welfare policy created specifically for mother-only families. Chicago initiated the largest mothers' pension programme 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, entangling it in a social hierarchy of entitlements and exclusions. Widows were more likely to receive penisons 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. This revealing study shows how assumptions about women's roles have historically shaped public policy, and seeks to shed light on the ongoing controversy of welfare reform.
Table of Contents
List of Tables Foreword by Catharine R. Stimpson Acknowledgments Introduction 1: Defining the Problems of "Dependent Motherhood" 2: The Structure of Public Provision: Gender and Race in Chicago's Welfare System 3: Gender and Social Policy: The Origins of Mothers' Pension Policy in Illinois 4: The Politics of Welfare Reform 5: The Economies of Mothers' Pensions Conclusion Appendix: Legislative and Judicial Changes in the Illinois 'Aid to Mothers' Law Notes Bibliography Index
- Volume
-
: paper ISBN 9780226303932
Description
Exploring the origins of welfare in the context of local politics, this book examines the first welfare policy created specifically for mother-only families. Chicago initiated the largest mothers' pension programme 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, entangling it in a social hierarchy of entitlements and exclusions. Widows were more likely to receive penisons 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. This revealing study shows how assumptions about women's roles have historically shaped public policy, and seeks to shed light on the ongoing controversy of welfare reform.
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