One of the earliest American advocates of a plan that could be recognized as modern social insurance was Theodore Roosevelt. In 1912, Roosevelt addressed the convention of the Progressive Party and made a strong statement on behalf of social insurance:

LINK

ETA: It was FDR that actually enacted SS.

This post was edited on 2/25/12 at 9:02 pm

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Posted by Ted2010

Member since Oct 2010

38958 posts

Posted on 2/25/12 at 9:05 pm to GoCrazyAuburn

What TR talked about in the election of 1912 was not the same as what FDR did. And the idea was not new in 1912 and not new to Progressives. TR knew his shot of winning that election went out the window when the Taft people screwed him out of the nomination. Hence the Bull Moose party and the appeal to the Midwest (where he hoped to win). So, he geared his speeches toward them.

However, a study of the progressive movement shows that TR was very tame compared to the others. One of my favorite quotes said to TR was "You were the progressive leader of the conservative party, now you are the conservative leader of the Progressive party."

That election always fascinated me. Thanks for the discussion!