History of social Welfare M3B

Read the articles and watch the videos below, then discuss how it relates to the Great Depression and subsequent policies that were implemented such as the New Deal and beyond? Where do Unions fit into this conversation?

Race

The Origin of Race in the USA (video, 2018, 10 minutes, captioned)
The Great Depression: Crash Course Black American History #28 (YouTube video, 2021, 12 minutes, captioned)
Gender

Women in the 19th Century: Crash Course US History #16 (video, 2013, 13 minutes, captioned)
Should the U.S. Require half of its Government to be Female? (PBS video, 9 minutes, 2018)
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ANSWER

History of social Welfare M3B

According to the video by Smith, the great depression was a hard time for Americans, but it was hard for some more than others. The great depression affected the Black Americans more than it did the other Americans. This is because even in programs such as the new deal that were aimed at cushioning Americans and helping get them through after the great depression, the Black Americans were cut out of those programs, which made it hard for them to measure up or even come close to becoming as financially stable as the white Americans (Beland &Waddan, 2012). In 1935 the national labour relations act was passed, making it possible for Americans to unionize and fight for fair wages (Smith, 2021). However, these programs were not administered fairly due to Jim Crow and white supremacy.

White supremacy prevented black Americans from having access to the healthcare services and other programs that were meant for the people. Also, farm workers and domestic workers were not included in the Wagner act. The majority of the black Americans were far workers and domestic workers, which made it automatically clear that they were excluded from benefiting from such an act (Lloyd & Davenport, 2013). Seventy-five percent of those who were working in the south were excluded from the legislation. This means that despite white Americans benefiting from getting to unionize and ask for fair wages, black Americans did not have this opportunity, and they kept being excluded from policies. This increased the wealth gap in the US, and this gap is still palpable in the US. Black Americans are still excluded from policies. It is not written in bold, but it is still there.

References

Béland, D., & Waddan, A. (2012). The politics of policy change: Welfare, Medicare, and Social Security reform in the United States. Georgetown University Press.

Lloyd, G., & Davenport, D. (2013). The New Deal & Modern American Conservatism: A Defining Rivalry. Hoover Press.

Smith. (2021). The Great Depression: Crash Course Black American History #28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f14kiGoexVg