Wilbur J. Cohen
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Wilbur Joseph Cohen (June 10, 1913 – May 17, 1987) was an American social scientist and
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
. He was one of the key architects in the creation and expansion of the American welfare state and was involved in the creation of both the
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
and Great Society programs.


Early life and career

Cohen was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Bessie (''née'' Rubenstein) and Aaron Cohen. He was known to by several nicknames. He was once dubbed "The Man Who Built Medicare" and John F. Kennedy tagged him "Mr. Social Security", although it was
Frances Perkins Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the 4th United States secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of th ...
, the first woman Secretary of Labor (under
FDR Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
), who was the architect of social security. '' The New York Times'' called him "one of the country's foremost technicians in public welfare." '' Time'' portrayed him as a man of "boundless energy, infectious enthusiasm, and a drive for action." He was a leading expert on Social Security and a member of Americans for Democratic Action. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1934, Cohen moved to Washington, D.C. where he was a research assistant for the committee which drafted the
Social Security Act The Social Security Act of 1935 is a law enacted by the 74th United States Congress and signed into law by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The law created the Social Security program as well as insurance against unemployment. The law was pa ...
. On April 8, 1938, Cohen married Eloise Bittel. They had three sons: Christopher, Bruce and Stuart. He was Director of the Bureau of Research and Statistics in charge of program development and legislative coordination with Congress for the Social Security Board (SSB), which was renamed the Social Security Administration in 1946.


Kennedy and Johnson administrations

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Cohen as Assistant Secretary for Legislation of Health, Education, and Welfare. According to Christy Ford Chapin (''Insuring America's Health: The Public Creation of the Corporate Health Care System'' p. 205) it was Cohen who, during the writing of Medicare legislation, "advised fellow reformers that partnering with insurance companies would create a politically palatable program"—with the result that America is today the only "developed" country with a for-private-profit health care system and without universal health care. Nicholas Lemann (''The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America'' p. 131 & 143) describes Cohen as "a first-generation New Deal social welfare planner howas deputy secretary but the real power in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare" and "an old friend of yndonJohnson." President Lyndon B. Johnson elevated him to Under Secretary in 1965, and he served as the
U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary i ...
from May 1968 to the end of
Johnson's Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
term, following the resignation of
John W. Gardner John William Gardner (October 8, 1912 – February 16, 2002) was United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President of the United States, President Lyndon Johnson. He was ...
. With a tenure of 249 days, Cohen became the shortest-ever secretary of that department, as the office was succeeded by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1980. Cohen also served a shorter tenure than any Secretary of Health and Human Services did, until 2017, when Tom Price, the first Secretary of Health and Human Services of the Trump administration, resigned after just 231 days, setting a new record for the shortest tenure.


Later life and death

In 1969, Cohen retired at the end of a Johnson's administration. In 1970, Cohen served as the president of the American Public Welfare Association (renamed the
American Public Human Services Association The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is a nonprofit organization made up of multiple programs made to assist families improve their lives. Founded in 1930, the APHSA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Issues The APHSA takes on ...
in 1997). In 1971, Cohen was elected to the
Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...
National Governing Board. In 1980 Cohen became a Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.Saxon, W
Wilbur Cohen, Leading Architect Of Social Legislation, Dies at 73
''New York Times'' May 19, 1987. p. D30.
The University of Michigan in
Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
, where Cohen was a professor of Public Welfare Administration and lived for many years, established the Wilbur J. Cohen Collegiate Professor of Social Work professorship in his honor. He died while attending a
gerontology Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The fie ...
conference in Seoul, South Korea, on May 17, 1987. He is interred at Garden of the Memories Cemetery in Kerrville, Texas. File:Wilburwithmaurine.jpg, Cohen in the early days of Social Security with Maurine Mulliner, who was the executive secretary of the Social Security Board in 1935. File:Wilburswearin.jpg, Cohen being sworn in as the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare; from left to right: President Lyndon B. Johnson (far right), Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey (far left), and the Eloise B. Cohen (right) and the three sons in 1968. File:President Lyndon B. Johnson Signing HR 18763.jpg, President Johnson signs a bill authorizing education programs for children with disabilities; from left to right:
Hugh L. Carey Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Party. ...
,
Dominick V. Daniels Dominick Vincent Daniels (October 18, 1908 – July 17, 1987) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's New Jersey's 14th congressional district, 14th congressional district from 19 ...
,
Carl D. Perkins Carl Dewey Perkins (October 15, 1912 – August 3, 1984), a Democrat, was an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky serving from 1949 until his death from a heart attack in Lexing ...
,
Albert H. Quie Albert Harold Quie ( ; born September 18, 1923) is an American politician and farmer. Quie, who served as member of the United States House of Representatives and Governor of Minnesota, is regarded as a moderate Republican. Quie was strongly c ...
,
Winston L. Prouty Winston Lewis Prouty (September 1, 1906September 10, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Vermont from 1959 until his death. He was previously a member of the United State ...
, Cohen (1968) File:Wilbur J. Cohen Building.jpg, The Wilbur J. Cohen Building at the current US Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.


Books

* ''The Elimination of Poverty in the United States''. Wilbur J. Cohen, 1963. * ''The Roosevelt New Deal: A Program Assessment Fifty Years After''. Wilbur J. Cohen. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. 1986 paperback edition: , . * ''Social Security: Universal or Selective?'' Wilbur J. Cohen and Milton Friedman, co-authors. Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 1972

* ''Unemployment Insurance in the United States: The First Half Century''. Saul J. Blaustein, Wilbur J. Cohen, William Haber, co-authors.
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
:
W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research The W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research is an American research organization based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Its purpose is to find and promote solutions to employment-related problems. Background The W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employm ...
. 1993 hardcover edition: , . Biography * ''Wilbur J. Cohen: the pursuit of power; a bureaucratic biography''.
Marjorie O'Connell Marjorie O'Connell Shearon (August 15, 1890 – 1974) was a palaeontologist from Newark, New Jersey. She earned a master's degree and a PhD from Columbia University. She wrote numerous scientific articles and named various species of ammonite fos ...
Shearon. Shearon Legislative Service. 1967. * ''Mr. Social Security: The Life of Wilbur J. Cohen.'' Edward D. Berkowitz.
Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
: University Press of Kansas. 1995 hardcover edition: , .


References


Social Security Administration profile





Site on LBJ's cabinet

Literacy Connections list of publications by Wilbur J. Cohen


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Wilbur J. 1913 births 1987 deaths American political writers American male non-fiction writers American social sciences writers American social scientists Jewish American social scientists Jewish American members of the Cabinet of the United States Social security in the United States Scientists from Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Michigan faculty United States Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare University of Texas at Austin faculty Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers Members of the National Academy of Medicine