Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Name	Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Formed	April 11, 1953
Dissolved	May 4, 1980
Superseding	United States Department of Education, United States Department of Health and Human Services
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Chief1 name	Oveta Culp Hobby
Chief1 position	First United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Chief2 name	Patricia Roberts Harris
Chief2 position	Final United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) was a cabinet-level department of the federal government from 1953 until 1980. It was established to consolidate and administer a wide array of social service, health, and educational programs that had grown significantly during the New Deal and post-World War II eras. Its creation marked a major expansion of the federal government's role in social welfare policy.

History and formation

The department was formally created on April 11, 1953, under the Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953, proposed by the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. This plan elevated the existing Federal Security Agency (FSA) to cabinet status. The FSA, established in 1939 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had already been overseeing key agencies like the United States Public Health Service, the Office of Education, and the Social Security Administration. The move to create HEW reflected the growing national consensus, influenced by figures like Frances Perkins, on the importance of a coordinated federal approach to social welfare following the success of programs like the G.I. Bill.

Organizational structure

HEW was a vast bureaucracy organized into several major operating agencies. Its core components included the United States Public Health Service, led by the Surgeon General of the United States, which encompassed the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. The Social Security Administration administered retirement and disability benefits established by the Social Security Act. The Office of Education handled federal aid to schools and education policy. Other significant units were the Administration on Aging, the Welfare Administration, and the Administration for Children and Families, which managed programs stemming from the Economic Opportunity Act.

Major programs and legislation

The department was the primary vehicle for implementing landmark social legislation throughout the mid-20th century. A cornerstone was the Social Security Act Amendments of 1965, which created Medicare and Medicaid, fundamentally transforming American healthcare. HEW played a central role in enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, particularly Title VI concerning nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs. It also administered major initiatives like Head Start, part of the War on Poverty launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and oversaw federal enforcement of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The National Cancer Act, which intensified the War on Cancer, also fell under its purview.

Key officials and leadership

The first United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare was Oveta Culp Hobby, a former commander of the Women's Army Corps. Subsequent secretaries included Abraham Ribicoff, who oversaw the early planning for Medicare, and John W. Gardner, a noted reformer and founder of Common Cause. Wilbur J. Cohen, a key architect of the Social Security Act, served as both Under Secretary and Secretary. Robert H. Finch and Elliot Richardson led the department under President Richard Nixon. The final secretary was Patricia Roberts Harris, who served under President Jimmy Carter and later became the first secretary of its successor department.

Impact and legacy

HEW's impact on American society was profound, shaping the modern welfare state and expanding access to healthcare, income security, and education. Its administration of Medicare and Medicaid provided health coverage to millions of elderly and low-income Americans. The department's civil rights enforcement, often through the threat of withholding federal funds, helped desegregate hospitals and schools following rulings like Brown v. Board of Education. Its support for biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health led to major scientific advances. However, HEW also faced criticism for bureaucratic inefficiency and becoming, in the view of some political figures like Ronald Reagan, an overly intrusive federal presence.

Dissolution and successor agencies

Growing political pressure to create a separate, focused department for education, championed by groups like the National Education Association, led to HEW's dissolution. The Department of Education Organization Act, signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, officially split the department. On May 4, 1980, HEW was replaced by two new cabinet-level agencies: the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Social Security Administration remained part of HHS until it became an independent agency in 1995 under President Bill Clinton.

Category:Defunct departments of the United States government Category:1953 establishments in the United States Category:1980 disestablishments in the United States