Responsibility assumed by the federal government: Social Security Throughout the 20th century, government responsibility has made remarkable progress. One of the major steps in expanding the responsibilities of the federal government was the obligation to care for the elderly and retirees in the form of social security. In 1935, the Social Security Act was enacted by the federal government to provide financial security for elderly and retired American citizens. Although the federal government first took on this responsibility in 1935, it still affects our lives today. However, Social Security would not have progressed this far without many organizations and individual reformers who started and improved Social Security throughout history. In early America, before industry took off, retirement savings weren't really necessary for several main reasons. First of all, people were dying much earlier; most people did not live past age 38, while in 1900 age 60 was common for about 40 percent of the population and 15 percent lived to 80 years. Another reason for the uselessness of Social Security in the 19th century and before was that people generally lived in rural areas on farms with extended families to care for them. Furthermore, the civil war also did not leave the government with much economic room to consider providing a service such as social security. However, after the Civil War, pensions provided a form of social security for Civil War veterans that continued until they retired. Unfortunately, these pensions only supported a very small part of the population; not even one percent of Americans received these pensions. Despite a much lower need for social security in the 18th century... middle of paper ......lash=true>."Legislative history." Social Security Amendments of 1939. Np, and Web. January 2, 2014. “New Deal Network Search Results.” » Search results on the New Deal network. Np, and Web. January 2, 2014. “Social Security”. -Archive collection. Np, and Web. January 2, 2014. “Social Security Act of 1935.” Social Security Act of 1935. Np, nd Web. December 30, 2013. “Social Security.” History. Np, and Web. January 02, 2014.Staff, FindingDulcinea. “On this day: the social security law is promulgated. » FindDulcinea. Np, August 14, 2011. Web. January 2, 2014. “Were there no old people in 1900? » Scattered thoughts from a scattered mind. Np, and Web. January 2. 2014.