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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Social Security

For Students 5th - 8th
See how the relationship between the government and its citizens was changed with the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935.
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Article
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History: Frances Perkins

For Students 9th - 10th
Encyclopedia Britannica provides a biography of Frances Perkins. Appointed secretary of labor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she was the first female cabinet member.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Social Security

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief look at the Social Security Act of 1935 which expanded the government's role in providing social welfare to those in need. See whom the Act did not help and read about how the legislation exanded the Americans' view of what...
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Handout
Social Security Administration

Social Security Online: A Tea Party That Changed History

For Students 9th - 10th
Essay discussing how Frances Perkins was involved in passage of the Social Security Act. Also contains a link to a speech given by Perkins to SSA employees.
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Handout
Social Security Administration

Social Security Online: Upton Sinclair

For Students 9th - 10th
The Social Security Administration profiles the political career of author Upton Sinclair and his unsuccessful run as a progressive candidate for governor of California in 1934. He proposed a plan for California similar to what became...
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Handout
Social Security Administration

Social Security Online: Historical Development [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Social Security Online provides a history of the beginning of Social Security. The United States was one of the last developed countries to adopt an old-age pension system.
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Handout
Wisconsin Historical Society

Wisconsin Historical Society: Edwin Witte, 1887 1960

For Students 9th - 10th
Edwin Witte was known as the founder of Social Security, having created the plan for it when he worked on the Committee on Economic Security under President Franklin Roosevelt. This is a biography of his life.
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Handout
US Senate

U.s. Senate: Robert Wagner: A Featured Biography

For Students 9th - 10th
Short biographical essay on Robert F. Wagner, author of the Social Security Act and the Wagner Labor Act.
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Activity
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Social Security Act of 1935

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides 15 detailed facts and a summary of one of the most important elements of FDR's New Deal program, the Social Security Act of 1935.