• About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe for Free
  • Download App
  • Anti-Racism Summit
SWHELPER
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • LGBTQ
  • Disability
Find/Post Jobs
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • LGBTQ
  • Disability
No Result
View All Result
SWHELPER
No Result
View All Result
Home Military

Serving Our Veterans: Public vs Private (Part 2 of 4)

Chris BrownbyChris Brown
January 15, 2014
in Military, Politics
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

Part one of this series analyzed the history of the Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF) and their actions during the Great Depression, and how its influence dramatically affected how the US government treated its brave men and women that go to war. In this second installment, I will take a  look at a key tension that has persisted from the days of the BEF up until our modern era. It is important to consider the historical context of these tensions when attempting to understand how we serve our nations military veterans.

Public vs Private
Public vs Private

The Public vs Private tension continues to work its way into social welfare discourse in the 21st century, but during the 1930’s it was just as rampant. In regard to social work, public represents services administered by a public agency, while private represents services provided through private charities, individuals, and groups. Previous to the Great Depression, by and large the aid and relief services were provided by private charities and local governments. Once the Great Depression hit, these private agencies were stressed to serve the needs of the millions who were suffering and starving; many of the available services at the time could not even shelter the homeless or feed the hungry.

Before the 1930’s and the Great Depression, issues like poverty and unemployment were primarily viewed as problems with the individual, rather than problems with the environment that individual lived within. Through that perspective, the common approach of the time was to address individual problems through private charity. With millions beginning to suffer from the Great Depression, the perception of social welfare began to shift. More people started to see that issues surrounding poverty had to be elevated to a public issue rather than maintain the narrow scope of a private or individual issue.

During this paradigm shift, it became evident to social workers and policy makers that the rising needs brought on by the Great Depression could only be addressed by public agencies . “Voluntary charity simply could not cope with the situation; only public agencies could deal with the collapse of the economy, mass unemployment, and widespread destitution”(Trattner, 1999) . As a result of this change in perspective, we created the U.S. Social Security Act of 1935, among several other programs. Public assistance worked its way into social policy and between 1929-1940 the number of persons on assistance or work- relief programs rose from less than a million to 9 million.

This tension between Public vs Private assistance took time to play out, and it had a direct impact on the wait time that veterans in the 1930’s seeking their Bonus had to endure. This was due to the observable conflict among political powers during the Bonus March era. President Hoover was adamant that assistance to the needy had no place for the public sector for a variety of reasons: “[f]or him, relief was a moral, not merely an economic, matter; private charity (such as he had distributed in war-ravaged Europe) was fine, but public aid, especially from national government, was a ‘dole’” (Trattner, 1999). As a result of these conflicts, it created several barriers to passing legislation that supported public assistance.

Subsequently, although the Great Depression proved that public agencies were the only group capable of providing adequate aid to those in need, tension existed and continues to this day. Unfortunately, the veterans of the Bonus Expeditionary Force just happened to be caught in the middle of all of it. Present day, those who are in need of services, including veterans, get caught in tension between the power sources who advocate for Public vs Private assistance.

In the next two parts of this series, I will be analyzing Micro vs. Macro and the long term implications of these paradigm shifts. Please stay tuned.

References:

Fisher, J. (1980). Social Work: The thirties as a watershed. In J. Fisher, The response of social work to the Depression (pp. 233-241). Boston, MA: G.K. Hall & Co.

Gordon, L. (1992). Social insurance and public assistance: The influence of gender in welfare thought in the United States, 1890-1935. American Historical Review 97, 19-54.

Trattner, W.I. (1999). Depression and a New Deal. In W. I. Trattner, From poor law to welfare state: A history of social welfare in America (6th ed.) (pp. 273-303). New York: Free Press.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Previous Post

NC Grade Drops to “F” Due to Laws against Reproductive Rights

Next Post

Germaphobes Raising Babies: Tips to Keep Your Sanity

Chris Brown

Chris Brown

Chris is pursuing a Masters in Social Work through the University of Washington's part time, extended degree program.

Related Posts

Hate Sites Using the Wider Abortion Argument to Spread Racism and Extremism
Health

Hate Sites Using the Wider Abortion Argument to Spread Racism and Extremism

June 29, 2022
How American Cities Can Promote Urban Agriculture
Environmental Justice

How American Cities Can Promote Urban Agriculture

November 24, 2021
How Environmental Policies Can Promote Economic Growth
Environmental Justice

How Environmental Policies Can Promote Economic Growth

June 24, 2022
New Preschool Program in Oregon is a Model for the Nation—But Challenges Remain
Education

New Preschool Program in Oregon is a Model for the Nation—But Challenges Remain

November 15, 2021
What the U.S. Government Can Do to Address Energy Insecurity
Criminal Justice

What the U.S. Government Can Do to Address Energy Insecurity

November 15, 2021
Researchers Quantify the Role of the Pandemic in the 2020 U.S. Elections
News

Researchers Quantify the Role of the Pandemic in the 2020 U.S. Elections

November 11, 2021
Next Post
Germaphobes Raising Babies: Tips to Keep Your Sanity

Germaphobes Raising Babies: Tips to Keep Your Sanity

Ban the Box: A Second Chance for People with Criminal Convictions

Ban the Box: A Second Chance for People with Criminal Convictions

Leave Comment
What Can Be Done To Solve The Foster Care Crisis?

Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

June 24, 2022
What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

June 19, 2022
Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

April 7, 2019
What Is a Genogram and Why Do I Need to Learn How to Create One?

What Is a Genogram and Why Do I Need to Learn How to Create One?

April 7, 2019
ADVERTISEMENT

Good Things Happen When
You Subscribe

Subscribe
  • What Can Be Done To Solve The Foster Care Crisis?

    Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

    77 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

    390 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What Is a Genogram and Why Do I Need to Learn How to Create One?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Top Twelve Grand Challenges Facing Society Today

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram TikTok
SWHELPER

  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe for Free
  • Download App
  • Anti-Racism Summit

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Politics
    • Criminal Justice
    • Social Work
    • Education
    • LGBTQ
    • Poverty
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Virtual Summit
  • Career Center
  • Download App
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
Sign Up with Linked In
OR

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Good Things Happen When
You Subscribe

Subscribe
Go to mobile version
 

    %d bloggers like this: