1930's Government and Politics | Old Age Revolving Pensions

Pamphlet

By: Francis E. Townsend

Date: c. 1934

Source: Old Age Revolving Pensions: A Proposed National Plan. Pamphlet. c. 1934. Available online at http://www.ssa.gov/history/towns5.html; website home page: http://www.ssa.gov (accessed August 29, 2002).

About the Author: Dr. Francis E. Townsend (1867–1960) was an elderly, country doctor who had relocated to California from South Dakota in 1919 for health reasons. He worked for the Long Beach Health Office until he lost his job in 1933. Sixty-seven years old and with barely enough money to get by, he developed an idea for a pension program to aid America's elderly which brought him to national attention. Townsend's plan attracted the attention of millions and was an important catalyst in the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935....