Which act provided for an old-age pension and unemployment insurance, becoming a landmark of the New Deal?

Which act provided for an old-age pension and unemployment insurance, becoming a landmark of the New Deal?

• A. American Recovery Act of 2009
• B. Social Security Act of 1935
• C. Interstate Commerce Act
• D. FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

Answer: (B)

The essential idea this question tests is identifying a New Deal law that created a nationwide social safety net by providing old-age pension and unemployment insurance. The Social Security Act of 1935 did exactly that. It established retirement benefits funded by payroll taxes, and it created unemployment insurance administered jointly by the federal government and states. This act broadened federal responsibility for citizens’ economic security and became a lasting, defining feature of New Deal reform. Other options don’t fit this specific change: a 2009 stimulus act aimed at jump-starting the economy rather than creating a long-term social insurance system; an 1887 act that regulated interstate commerce and railroads; and a banking reform law that insured deposits but did not establish pension or unemployment programs.

The essential idea this question tests is identifying a New Deal law that created a nationwide social safety net by providing old-age pension and unemployment insurance. The Social Security Act of 1935 did exactly that. It established retirement benefits funded by payroll taxes, and it created unemployment insurance administered jointly by the federal government and states. This act broadened federal responsibility for citizens’ economic security and became a lasting, defining feature of New Deal reform.

Other options don’t fit this specific change: a 2009 stimulus act aimed at jump-starting the economy rather than creating a long-term social insurance system; an 1887 act that regulated interstate commerce and railroads; and a banking reform law that insured deposits but did not establish pension or unemployment programs.