Books by Edwin Amenta

According to conventional wisdom, American social policy has always been exceptional - exceptionally stingy and backwards. This title explains why the country's leading role was short-lived. It shows that the New Deal was in fact a bold program of relief, committed to providing jobs and income support for the unemployed.

Accounts for the origins of Social Security as we know it. This book tells the story of the Townsend Plan - a political organization that sought to alleviate poverty and end the Great Depression through a government-provided retirement stipend of $200 a month for every American over the age of sixty.