The Nation - News from Aug. 15, 1985
Social Security celebrated its 50th anniversary as Americans gathered across the country to praise the program that has paid $1.8 trillion in benefits. The program, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Aug. 14, 1935, was intended to protect the aged against poverty. In New York, 4,000 persons gathered at the Roosevelt family estate to laud the program and urge a continuing fight against reductions in benefits. The speakers included Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., one of the late President’s four sons, and Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.), the oldest member of Congress.
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