The advances in the social welfare are traced back to the efforts by Harry Lloyd Hopkins (1890-1946) who was an administrator and presidential advisor in the Second World War. He was born in Sioux City in Iowa and was born as the fourth child in his family. His parents were David Aldona, and Anna Pickett Hopkins and a milestone in his life was when the family moved to Iowa in 1901 which enabled Hopkins to attend college. Upon his graduation in 1912, he took up a job in a social service agency named Christodora Settlement House that was located in the Lower Est Side ghetto of New York City. It is then that he began a life devoted to public service and that enabled him to rise to the position of power he held in the White House later.
It is critical to give a background of the environment that surrounded the efforts by key players in the advancement of the social systems. The cultural and political structures that were existent in the early decades of the twentieth century played a significant role in defining the configuration of the American welfare system as it turned out from the third decade of the century. Social worker's, reformers and politicians proceeded with the currents the Great Depression, and in the way, they formed the policies of the New Deal. New York city was among the leaders in the movements, and it also played a key role in the way the president responded to the Great Depression. The response by the city's administrator to tackle the crisis ensured that it was a prototype to the work relief programs. Harry Hopkins was thus unique among the other social and political leaders because he combined experienced gained from vast institutions and especially the emerging American welfare system.
In 1913, Hopkins assumed the role of a friendly advisor who was required to assist the immigrant population when he was working with the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (AICP). Later that year, he married a fellow social worker was also a suffragist, Ethel Gross, and they had three children. Two years later, he was appointed by NYC Mayor John Purroy Mitchel as the Executive Secretary of the city, and he was tasked with the role of offering publicly-funded pension to the mothers and children. The experience proved to be a milestone achievement because he was later involved in the formulation of the Title IV of the Social Security Act that was designed as an Aid t Dependent Children.
Hopkins is also noted to have played a key role in the world wars that later ensured. In the First World War, Hopkins was not much eligible for the drafting of laws and he decided to join the American Red Cross. He then decided that it would be appropriate to move his family to New Orleans after he had assumed a new role in the city as he was the director of the Civilian Relief in the Gulf Division. He noted that there was a need for trained social workers in the South to serve the roles that he was doing, an idea that led him to pioneer the institution of the School of Social Work at Tulane University. Following the end of the war, there was a collaboration that led to the merging of the Southwestern Division and the Gulf Division of the Red Cross. Hopkins capitalized on the idea and decided to rise to the general manager as he was headquartered in Atlanta which was conducive to him. Upon his rise to the helm, Hopkins played a crucial role in the drafting of a charter that advocated for the American Association of Social Workers (AASW). His relentless efforts led to his announcement as the president of the movement in 1923.
Despite the fact that he was seminal in the advancement of the social work career, it was clear that he and his wife had missed spending time in New York. He, therefore, opted to return to New York in 1922 and was assigned the position of the General Director while working with the New York Tuberculosis Association. During his time as the head, the organization underwent a major growth with the enormous growth leading to the absorption by the New York Heart Association. At this time, Hopkin's reputation had grown, and he was a social work administrator who was recognized at the national level considering his effectiveness in his service delivery (Roll 2013).
Later in 1931, the Great Depression was having a major effect, and many American had started losing confidence in the nation and the world at large underwent a major economic disaster. It was that he was summoned by the New York State Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt who required him to run a state relief organization that was called the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA). Following this meeting, he started having a personal and professional relationship with the governor that advanced progressively until when Roosevelt died in 1945. He took up his role positively while working as the director of the TERA where he established a relief policy that was a response to the crisis and work relief that was intended to last for many more years. It thus meant that those who were unemployed would benefit from the opportunity as it enabled them to earn a small wage even though it was quite small. His motivational statement was that "If it becomes evident that private enterprise cannot make the most efficient use of all available manpower and all available resources, people will look to public services as a means of supplementing private employment" (Hopkins 2018). It thus meant that Hopkins did not relent in his efforts and determination to set up permanent programs that involved countercyclical projects that were intended to absorb the vast groups of unemployed workers.
Following Roosevelt's inauguration as the president, Hopkins was called to Washington, and he was required take the role of the federal relief administrator. Hopkins took up the new responsibility with the belief that work was the new and primary solution in addressing the problem of poverty, he created government-sponsored jobs because he had the powers to do so. He ended up securing a chance for the vast majority who had no employment, and he was further actively involved in the formation of other New Deal programs that included the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). Later in 1945, when the war started in Europe, Roosevelt decided to focus on the foreign affairs at the time, which enabled him to advance his professional relations with the president. It was also a time when the president needed a confidant who would not only advise but also act for him.
A key milestone in his biography was the role he played in the 1935 Social Security Act that ensured that the nation advanced to a different path that meant that it was turning into a welfare state that he had envisioned before. The workers were protected by the federally-mandated and state-administered unemployment insurance that was time-limited in structure. When they retired, they would be safeguarded by the old-age insurance. It was, however, outlined that there were no government-assured jobs in case the unemployment insurance got depleted. The move by Hopkins ensured that the means-tested and public assistance would only be used for the poverty-stricken but still, it did not mean that it has arises from the economic crisis. Hopkins was focused on the needy after he realized that the poor children comprises the largest single group of those who were needy. In fact, while the Social Security culd be advanced to the poor children, a large group of similar children were still beyond the limits of help.
Hopkins later moved to the White House in 1939 when he got informed about the foreign policy at the FDR side. He was later assigned the role of the unofficial emissary of the president to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He was also the unofficial emissary to Marshall Joseph Stalin who had turned out to be the USSR dictator. He ensured that the US turned into an Arsenal of Democracy especially following his rise to the role of an administrator of the Lend Lease. He used the skills and experience he had gained in to ensure that the US was advancing and cranking out munitions that would make the nation a hub for democracy ideas. He was also actively involved in many travels, and he was the president's emissary and was also handy in assisting the president in the wartime conferences. It is important to note, however, that Hopkins underwent challenges because he also experienced a variety of illnesses that adversely affected his progress. Nevertheless, he was faithful to his course and delivered the mandate that was required of him and is remembered as a major contributor to the advances in the development of the social systems in the US.
In summary, it is noted that Harry Hopkins was an American social worker who was also one of the closest advisors to President Roosevelt. He began his desire to be a reformer in social welfare at an early age because he started working with a social institution immediately he graduated from college. It is evident that he later went on to work in multiple organization where he headed many reform agendas and was instrumental in ensuring that the US was an arsenal of social welfare shift. His great contribution came in the relief effort where he was tasked with the role of guiding the plan for the largest employer in the nation. Through his ability to combine the skills and experiences he gained across the many years he was in service, Hopkins proved to be a unique social administrator whose contribution lasted many decades later.
Works Cited
Hopkins, J., 2018. Harry Hopkins and New Deal Policies. Social Welfare History Project. Available at: https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/great-depression/harry-hopkins-influence-new-deal/.
Roll, D., 2013. Who was Harry Hopkins? OUP Blog. Available at: https://blog.oup.com/2013/01/who-was-harry-hopkins-fdr-wwii/.
