Social Security Act of 1935
This page analyzes a single policy using structured scoring, historical evidence, source quality, and measurable outcomes.
Summary
Created federal old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and public assistance programs, but initially excluded many occupations in which Black workers were concentrated, including large portions of agricultural and domestic labor.
How to Read This Record
Impact Reading
Very high documented impact
Evidence Base
Strong evidence from Government, Archive sources.
Data Completeness
Good record with 7 sources and 0 metrics.
Outcome Summary
The Act became a pillar of the modern welfare state, but its original exclusions limited Black workers' access to social insurance and reinforced racial inequality in economic security.
Categories
Impact Scores
This score is a structured measure of how directly and materially this policy affected Black communities, weighted by evidence, durability, and equity. Harm offset reduces the total score.
Total Impact Score
25
Directness
2
How explicitly the policy targeted or affected Black communities.
Material Impact
5
The practical real-world effect on conditions, rights, or outcomes.
Evidence
5
Strength of sourcing and historical support for the assessment.
Durability
5
How lasting the effects of the policy were over time.
Equity
1
Whether the policy advanced fairness, inclusion, or equal access.
Harm Offset
1
Any offsetting harms, limitations, exclusions, or contradictory effects that reduce the total.
Scoring Notes: A foundational federal welfare law whose racially unequal occupational exclusions had major downstream effects.
Metrics
No metrics added yet.
Related Promise Tracker
This policy is referenced in tracked presidential promises. Use these records to see how the policy fits into a broader promise, action, and outcome chain.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Create old-age insurance and unemployment protections through Social SecurityRoosevelt signed the Social Security Act, establishing a foundational federal social-insurance structure even though major exclusions initially left many Black workers outside full coverage.
Suggested Relationships
These policies may be related based on shared categories, era, and proximity in time.
1935 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Mixed
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 0
1937 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Mixed
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 2
1938 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Mixed
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 3
1961 • Executive Order • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 26
1964 • Law • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 29
1965 • Executive Order • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 30
1934 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 1
1933 • Program • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 2
Sources
Anniversary of the Social Security Act of 1935
GovInfo • Government
Official overview confirming the Act's signature date and core program structure.
View sourceThe 1935 Law
Social Security Administration • Government
SSA history page explaining the original design of old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and related provisions.
View sourceThe Social Security Act of 1935
Social Security Administration • Government
SSA history page describing the law's original coverage structure and early occupational limits.
View sourceMessage to Congress on Social Security
The American Presidency Project • Archive
Published: Jan 17, 1935
Promise Tracker batch 5 reduced FDR source import. Direct Roosevelt promise-level source for the Social Security record.
View sourceSocial Security History
Social Security Administration • Government
Promise Tracker batch 5 reduced FDR source import. Action-level historical source preserving Roosevelt statements and legislative context.
View sourceSocial Security In America: The Factual Background of the Social Security Act as Summarized from Staff Reports to the Committee on Economic Security
Social Security Administration • Government
Published: Jan 1, 1937
Promise Tracker batch 5 reduced FDR source import. Outcome-level source supporting the significance of the Social Security Act as a federal social-insurance milestone.
View sourceThe Decision to Exclude Agricultural and Domestic Workers from the 1935 Social Security Act
Social Security Administration • Government
Published: Nov 1, 2010
Promise Tracker batch 5 reduced FDR source import. Outcome-level source supporting the Mixed interpretation by documenting original Social Security exclusions affecting agricultural and domestic workers.
View source