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Michael B. Katz

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History

...periodic illness, rather than long-term unemployment. In the best of times, they earned barely enough to feed and clothe a family, but seasonal labor demands, as well as shifts in the business cycle, often left them with no work at all. In and out of work, they alternated between bare self-sufficiency and dependence. Work-related accidents and sickness struck ordinary workers and their families frequently and with devastating impact. Because they had little or no insurance, a serious illness could devastate the capacity of families to support themselves; well...