Before Handouts

[Big Kahunaz]

I was in line to purchase fresh shrimp and crab from a local seafood market and the person in front of me asked if she could reserve crawfish and purchase with food stamps. The answer "yes" blew me away. Not going to grind into the matter but it intrigued me enough to look into its history: ( line 3 )*

Welfare Before the Depression

A federal welfare system was a radical break from the past. Americans had always prided themselves on having a strong sense of individualism and self-reliance. Many believed that those who couldn’t take care of themselves were to blame for their own misfortunes. During the 19th century, local and state governments as well as charities established institutions such as poorhouses and orphanages for destitute individuals and families. Conditions in these institutions were often deliberately harsh so that only the truly desperate would apply.

Local governments (usually counties) also provided relief in the form of food, fuel, and sometimes cash to poor residents. Those capable were required to work for the town or county, often at hard labor such as chopping wood and maintaining roads. But most on general relief were poor dependent persons not capable of working: widows, children, the elderly, and the disabled.



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