A welfare state is defined as a social system based on the assumption by a political state of primary responsibility for the individual and social welfare of its citizens. Otto Van Bismarck, the chancellor under three successive German Emperors, created the first modern version in the 1880’s. He created the concept of state pensions and social security as a way to draw support away from the Socialists, not because he cared about the well-being of Germany’s citizens.
The welfare state present in the United States was introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he signed the new deal during the Great Depression.
