The most comprehensive encyclopedia available on the U.S. government's responses to poverty from the colonial era to the present day.

Poverty and the Government in America: A Historical Encyclopedia looks at one of the most important and controversial issues in U.S. history. Debated vigorously every election year, poverty is a topic that no politician at any level of government can escape. Ranging from colonial times to the New Deal, from Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty to welfare reform and beyond, it is the only encyclopedia focused exclusively on policy initiatives aimed at underprivileged citizens and the impact of those initiatives on the nation.



Poverty and the Government in America offers over 170 entries on policies implemented to alleviate poverty-their historic contexts, rationales, and legacies. The encyclopedia also features separate essays on how poverty has been addressed at federal, state, local, and Native American tribal levels throughout U.S. history. Complimented by a richly detailed chronology and a wealth of primary documents, these features help readers grasp both the broad contours of government efforts to fight poverty and the details and results of specific policies.









170 alphabetically organized entries on policy directives, legislation, important individuals, and organizations that have influenced government approaches to dealing with poverty in the United States



Cross-referenced introductory essays on poverty and policy at the federal, state, local, and tribal-government level across the breadth of U.S. history



A chronology with entries highlighting the evolution of policies and attitudes concerning the government's role in economic issues



40 primary source documents detailing major government policies towards poverty, such as FDR's Bill of Economic Rights



Sidebars highlighting defining moments in the implementation of policies to poor relief policies, as well as profiles on the individuals involved in developing those policies