111th Congress, 2nd Session
The Social Security Act of 1935
August 14, 1935
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935 into law on this date. Passed by the House of Representatives on April 5, 1935, the legislation was reconciled in two sets of conference reports which both houses of Congress agreed to in early August. Despite bitter attacks by fiscal conservatives, the House approved H.R. 7260 by a vote of 372 to 33, a wide margin attributable to Democrats’ overwhelming majority in the 74th Congress (1935–1937). The Social Security Act, a landmark initiative of the so-called “Second New Deal,” signaled the administration’s change in emphasis from emergency economic recovery legislation to social welfare. Upon the bill’s passage, Ways and Means Chairman Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina stated, “I’m proud to say that despite the attacks and partisanship displayed, this measure has not been changed and the vote here today will show that congress is behind our great President and the country believes in his statesmanship.”
Related Highlight Subjects
Cite this Highlight
Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=109, (December 07, 2010).For Additional Information
Office of History and Preservation(202) 226-1300
history@mail.house.gov
Subscribe to E-mail Updates
Sign up for monthly e-mail updates on House art and history.
Serving 21 terms in the House of Representatives, Robert Doughton of North Carolina chaired three committees: Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture; Ways and Means; and the Joint Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation.
Collection of Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives
Teaching Tip
House Legislation
Have students search the highlight dates and locate reference to any legislative document (bill, resolution, speech, etc.). Ask students to track down the document at a local depository library. Students should research the historical background of the document and make a brief presentation which includes reading all or portions of the document aloud. To locate a nearby federal depository library go to http://catalog.gpo.gov.
