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13th Amendment abolishes slavery
Released slaves are left with no money, jobs, or resources which results in increased poverty rates. -
Jane Addams founds Hull House
Addams and others founded this establishment in Chicago to provide shelter and education to poor immigrants and the homeless. -
Great Depression Begins
During the Great Depression massive numbers of Americans lived in poverty. The people who lived in poverty had been denied an income sufficient to meet their basic needs. The seemingly endless continuation of poverty, or the Great Depression Poverty cycle, was triggered by a chain of events such as unemployment, homelessness, inadequate housing, hunger, family issues, and bad health. -
U.S. Housing Act
The Housing Act of 1937 was enacted to improve living conditions for low-income families. It was designed to lend money to the states or communities for low-cost construction. The underlying goal of the act was to get the country out of the Great Depression by stimulating the economy. -
National Minimum Wage Law Enacted
A federal minimum wage went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act where Congress initially set the wage at 25 cents an hour. This legislative action advocated for people living in poverty because of low wages or unemployment. -
America's First Food Stamp Program is Created
The first FSP in the U.S. began in 1939 and paved a path for all nutritional assistance programs that would come after it. The program operated by permitting people on relief to buy stamps equal to their normal food expenditures. The system used orange and blue stamps that were redeemable for different foods. Over nearly 4 years, the first FSP reached approximately 20 million people at one time or another in nearly half of the counties in the United States. -
Poverty Rate at an All Time High
Prior to War on Poverty Efforts, poverty rates in the U.S. were at a record high of about 22.4% in 1959. -
Lyndon B. Johnson Becomes President
Johnson and his administration were vital to the start of a real fight against poverty in America. The War on Poverty which Johnson initiated created many programs which help millions of Americans living in poverty. -
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency. The program exists under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. -
Lyndon B. Johnson War on Poverty
In his State of the Union address of 1964, Johnson proposed legislation in hopes of lowering the poverty rate in the U.S. that was around 19% at the time. The War on Poverty is a name for the programs and initiatives that the Johnson Administration implemented during his presidency, including Medicaid, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, and more. -
Economic Opportunity Act
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was an effort by Lyndon B. Johnson to eliminate and prevent poverty as a part of the War on Poverty that he declared earlier in the year. It allowed for the formation of local agencies that would provide financial assistance to those living in poverty. -
Mollie Orshansky Creates Poverty Thresholds
Poverty thresholds that define what is considered poverty in the U.S. were introduced by Mollie Orshansky who worked in high-level statistical jobs at the New York City Department of Health, the U.S. National War Labor Board, and the U.S. Wage Stabilization Board, and worked as a family economist and later as a food economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Her poverty thresholds were published soon after Lyndon B. Johnson declared unconditional war on poverty. -
Creation of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of HHS for Planning and Evaluation
The office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation advises the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on policy development, research, economic analysis, and more. The ASPE conducts thorough research on poverty in terms of guidelines, trends, and actions that can be taken to stop it. -
Establishment of Medicaid
A major part of the Social Security Amendments of 1965 was the creation of Medicaid which provides health insurance to the poor. Along with Medicaid came Medicare as well, which was a health care program for the elderly. Medicaid is a program offered by both the state and federal government. Today, the income requirement to access Medicaid is 138% of the federal poverty line ($33,534 for a family of 4), or 160% ($38,880) for a family of four with children under 6 or a pregnant woman. -
Institute for Research on Poverty is Started
The Institute for Research on Poverty is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison dedicated to studying poverty and economic inequality. It was established in March 1966, as a result of an agreement between UW–Madison and the Office of Economic Opportunity. -
King v Smith
Alabama created a rule in 1964 that prevented children from receiving payments if a man had sexual relations with the mother of the family. Smith was a man who had sexual relations with a woman and was called a "substitute father". The state of Alabama argued that the regulation was a way to classify a non-absent parent under the act in order to appropriately distribute limited AFDC funds. The Court decided that Alabama's "substitute father" regulation violated the Fleming Ruling. -
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is Founded
By working with their public, private and non-profit partners, the FNS's mission is to increase food security and reduce hunger by providing children and low-income people access to food. They ensure that their programs continue to respond to the needs of the low-income families and respond to the changing economic conditions while ensuring we remain vigilant stewards of taxpayer dollars. -
Creation of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development
The CCHD was created by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to help promote participation and good decision-making for people in poverty. This interest group “helps people help themselves” out of poverty with self-sufficiency and self-determination. Its main goals are to educate people about the reality of poverty, its effects on communities, and its causes. It solely spends money on distributing resources and funding programs for those in poverty and does not donate to candidates. -
Dandridge v. Williams
Under the AFDC program, each state must determine a "standard of need" for each eligible family. Residents of Maryland, Linda Williams, single mother of eight children, and Junius and Jeanette Gary, also parents of eight children, claimed that Maryland's computation for standard of need discriminated against larger families. Therefore, it violated the Equal Protection Clause and contradicted the purpose of the Social Security Act. -
Poverty Studies Task Force is Established
In response to a Congressional requirement, an inter-agency Poverty Studies Task Force was established to undertake an intensive review of the current poverty measure and alternative measurement schemes. A final report, The Measure of Poverty, was submitted to Congress in 1976. -
Creation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services is a United States executive department established in 1979. The department was formed for "protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves." -
Creation of The Coalition on Human Needs
Founded by organizations concerned about President Reagan’s proposals to consolidate targeted federal funding for human needs programs into block grants, the Coalition promotes adequate funding for human needs programs, progressive tax policies and other measures to address the needs of low-income people. The CHN is an interest group that serves as a source of information on poverty and human needs issues for our members and the general public. -
Measuring Poverty: A New Approach is Published
In May 1995, the Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance published its report of the study Measuring Poverty: A New Approach, Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1995. In the report, the Panel proposed a new approach for developing an official poverty measure for the U.S., although it did not propose a specific set of dollar figures. -
Americans for Prosperity is Founded
Americans for Prosperity is a non-profit libertarian/conservative interest group. They believe that the government takes too much money from the people through taxes which takes away from private businesses. Because of how much money they take, debt is increasing and less and less are able to pay for the high taxes, slowing our economic growth. They believe that watching over and having more control on government spending is essential and the only way to lift people from poverty. -
Supplemental Poverty Measure is Released
The U.S. Census Bureau has released an alternative to the official poverty measure known as the Supplemental Poverty Measure since 2010. The SPM corrects many potential deficiencies in the official rate. It constructs a more realistic threshold for incomes families need to live free of poverty, and adjusts that threshold for regional price differences. It also accounts for the resources available to poor families that are not included in the official rate. -
Official Poverty Rate: 12.3%
The official poverty rate in 2017 was 12.3 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from 12.7 percent in 2016. This is the third consecutive annual decline in poverty. Since 2014, the poverty rate has fallen 2.5 percentage points, from 14.8 percent to 12.3 percent. -
Trump Issues Executive Order on Poverty
This executive order demonstrates Trump’s mission to implement assistance for people in poverty and the immediate results expected from it. “It shall be the policy of the Federal Government to … Improve employment outcomes and economic independence … Reserve benefits for people with low incomes and limited assets … Empower the private sector, as well as local communities, to develop and apply locally based solutions to poverty.” -
H.R. 430: TANF Extension Act of 2019
This law that was recently signed allows more block grants to be given to states to help needy families and or programs relating that topic. It is a federal cash assistance program for low-income families with children. The law was produced during the government shutdown when TANF funds were being out on hold. The bill was introduced by democratic Richard E. Neal and went through the House Ways and Means committee. -
SF 622 MN Legislature Bill
This bill that is sponsored by four democratic senators deals with Minimum wage phased-in increase, federal social security tax loophole closure, the expansion of child care assistance, Minnesota family investment program cash grant increase, working family tax credit program increase, and basic sliding fee child care assistance programs. These actions work towards decreased poverty rates in MN and income assistance. -
S.1066 - An Act Targeting Resources to Communities in Need
This bill would increase the distribution of funding for any counties with a poverty rate of 20 percent or higher. The bill is sponsored by only independent democrats so their bill corresponds to democrat ideology because there was no republican input. Democrats generally believe in trying to fix poverty through enhancing spending towards programs that are designed to help decrease poverty.
