PROTECTING SOLDIERS AND MOTHERS The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States

Theda Skocpol Copyright © 1992 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College First Harvard University Press paperback edition, 1995 ISBN 0-674-71766-X This book very thoroughly examines the Civil War Pension Plan, exploring the politics behind it as well as its expansion over several decades. Of particular interest is the pension's role as America's first national system of public old-age and disability benefits.