Becoming Entitled: Relief, Unemployment, and Reform during the Great Depression

232 Pages·2020·8.52 MB·English

by  Abigail Trollinger

Becoming Entitled

Abigail Trollinger
Becoming Entitled
Relief, Unemployment, and Reform
during the Great Depression
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Philadelphia • Rome • Tokyo
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122
tupress.temple.edu
Copyright © 2020 by Temple University—Of The Commonwealth System
of Higher Education
All rights reserved
Published 2020
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Trollinger, Abigail, 1982– author.
Title: Becoming entitled : relief, unemployment, and reform during the Great
Depression / Abigail Trollinger.
Description: Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 2020. | Includes biblio-
graphical references and index. | Summary: “Becoming Entitled examines the
Depression-era political and intellectual shifts that occurred at the city and
state levels and ultimately enabled the passage of unemployment insurance in
the United States, and the role played by local reformers and settlement leaders
in bringing about these changes”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019057720 (print) | LCCN 2019057721 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781439919521 (cloth) | ISBN 9781439919538 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781439919545 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Unemployment insurance—United States—History—20th
century. | Unemployment—United States—Public opinion—History—20th
century. | Unemployed—Services for—United States—History—20th century. |
Social settlements—United States—History—20th century. | Social reformers—
United States—History—20th century. | Unemployment insurance—Illinois—
Chicago—History—20th century. | Unemployment—Illinois—Chicago—Public
opinion—History—20th century. | Unemployed—Services for—Illinois—
Chicago—History—20th century. | Social settlements—Illinois—Chicago—
History—20th century. | Social reformers—Illinois—Chicago—History—
20th century.
Classification: LCC HD7096.U6 T75 2020 (print) | LCC HD7096.U6 (ebook) |
DDC 368.4/40097309043—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019057720
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019057721
c The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1992
Printed in the United States of America
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Millie and Eloise

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Entitlement in Historical Context 1
1 Revealing the “Social Consequences of Unemployment” 20
2 Charity, Relief, and Localism in Depression- Era Chicago 50
3 Charity and Entitlement 71
4 Entitled to Relief 96
5 Getting Relief from the Government 125
Epilogue: Still Entitled to Relief? 151
Appendix 1: Settlements and Other Organizations
Cooperating in the Unemployment Study of the National
Federation of Settlements 157
Appendix 2: Partial List of Members of the Governor’s
Commission on Unemployment and Relief (GCUR) 161
Notes 163
Bibliography 195
Index 209

Acknowledgments
B
ecoming Entitled started as a dissertation and grew into this
book, so I have accumulated many debts of gratitude over its
years of existence. It began at Northwestern University with a
recommendation from Henry Binford, an enthusiastic and thought-
ful adviser who supported me in moments of doubt and steered me
away from the pitfalls of overly simplistic analysis and unsubstanti-
ated arguments. The members of my dissertation committee, Mi-
chael Sherry and Susan Pearson, read countless drafts and offered
valuable feedback time and again. More recently, editor Aaron Jav-
sicas championed Becoming Entitled as a book, and he and Ashley
Petrucci patiently and expertly guided me through the publishing
process at Temple University Press.
Becoming Entitled rests on the work and expertise of the archivists
who made available to me the rich world of settlement work in the
1930s. I particularly want to thank Kevin Leonard and Janet Olson,
who introduced me to the Northwestern University Settlement ar-
chives and warmly welcomed me day after day. At the University of
Minnesota’s Social Welfare History Archives, David Klassen offered
financial assistance and critical insights into my research. I am also
grateful to numerous archivists who helped me navigate settlement