Last week Archives.gov featured documents from the original Social Security Act of 1935. Along with the first page of the original act, Archives.gov included links to amendments to the original act, background on FDRs rationale at the time, and links to lesson plans about FDR’s response to the Great Depression.

Applications for Education
Social Security and health care reforms have long been hot topics in political campaigns and Congressional debate. Chances your high school and middle school students have at least heard about Social Security and in some cases may have first-hand experience with Social Security benefits. These documents from the National Archives could be useful for having students make comparisons between how they understand Social Security today and how it was originally designed.

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