Podcasts · Letters from an American
The Social Security Act
· 12 min
Episode The Social Security Act
August 14, 2026
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to build his White House Ballroom, The National Trust of Historic Preservation has sued to stop construction, Asking to spend taxpayer money on a vanity project is a stark contract to the actions of the government 91 years ago, On August 14, 1935, FDR signed the Social Security Act into law, The Social Security Act permanently changed the nature of the American government, It enabled a federal system of benefits, providing a basic social safety net, The force behind the law was Frances Perkins, FDR’s secretary of labor, A witness to the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, she knew voluntary organizations would not be sufficient to improve worker’s lives, The Social Security Act was hugely popular, The Act wrote into the law a longstanding political impulse that stood in contrast to the 1920s philosophy of rugged individualism, recognizing that pooling resources to take care of everyone was deeply seated, She asserted that Social Security was so firmly embedded in America’s psychology that no one could destroy it.
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Transcript
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