Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy by Laura Jensen

Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy by Laura Jensen

Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy offers a pathbreaking account of the pivotal role played by entitlement policies during the first hundred years of the United States' existence. Contrary to the story of developmental delay contained in the standard historiography, Laura Jensen reveals that national social policies not only existed in early America, but also were a major instrument by which the fledgling US government built itself and the new nation. From 1776 onwards, Federal pensions and land entitlements figured prominently in the growth and empowerment of a unique American state, the consolidation and expansion of the country, and the political incorporation of a diverse citizenry. The book provides a rich account of how governing institutions, public expectations, ideas about law and legality, political necessity and public policy gave shape to definitions of need, worth, and eligibility in late eighteenth and nineteenth century America.

"Jensen's new book offers considerable insight and instructionJensen provides an intelligent dissection of the structural and historical effects of programmatic lawmaking, and, in the process, forces scholars of all persuasions to rethink the nature of entitlements." The Journal of Interdisciplany History
"...adds significantly to our understanding of the early federal government." American Historical Review
"Laura Jensen's account is rich at both substantive and methodological levels. As a matter of substance, Jensen persuasively recovers an early history for the federal administrative state." Law and History Review

LAURA JENSEN was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1948. She received degrees from The University of Washington and The University of Iowa, where she attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Washington State Arts Commission the Guggenheim Foundation, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Reader's Digest Fund. Ms. Jensen has published seven collections of poems including Bad Boats, Memory, and Shelter.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780521818834
ISBN 10	0521818834
Title	Patriots, Settlers, and the Origins of American Social Policy
Author	Laura Jensen
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2003-04-28
Number of pages	258
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.