THE AGED, THE FAMILY, AND THE PROBLEMS OF A MATURING INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY: NEW YORK, 1900-193

To integrate social history of old people with the political development of old-age programs is the goal of this dissertation. The research focuses on the changing reality of life for the elderly and the development of public policy during an important time of change, 1900 to 1930. These topics are explored by first, defining the problems of aging as perceived in the 1920s; second, describing family relationships with an analysis of household structure and work situations of families with elderly members; and finally interpreting the response of welfare organizations and the government. Interest in the elderly arose after the economy was already industrialized but before social welfare schemes had been worked out in the United States. Technology created change; nostalgia created the belief that this change was for the worse. But conditions were not necessarily deteriorating for old people. Rather, reformers became aroused by concern for the elderly poor as a special group.;A sample of elderly persons from the New York state census of 1925 was used to determine the relationships of old people and their families. The analysis of household structure indicates that 70 percent of those aged 65 or older lived with spouses and/or their children. As long as they remained married (60 percent of the men and 30 percent of the women), most retained the status of household head regardless of age and regardless of employment. The household structure of elderly persons was compared by categories based on size of community and by country of birth. Rural residents were more likely to live alone than the others, and East and South European-born men and women were considerably more likely to live in three-generation families.;During the 1920s welfare organizations and state governments responded to the plight of the elderly poor. Although very few old people, even among the poor, lived in institutions or received charity, perceptions about the dependent elderly helped formulate a model of aging which justified a marked differentiation of the last stage of life. In 1929 social workers, trade unionists, and special advocacy groups joined forces to sponsor reform of New York's poor laws. Pension advocates, including Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, became convinced that only federal action could provide "security against old age want".