Dr. Townsend published his plan in a Long Beach, California newspaper, as a kind of extended "Letter to the Editor," in early 1933. He was surprised by the swift and massive response the letter generated. Townsend had tapped a major social problem in America (poverty among the elderly) and the nation was crying out for a solution. Townsend's letter led to the formation of an organization and the development of a formal Plan. The Plan was then published as a pamphlet and distributed throughout America.



This is the pamphlet the Townsend group distributed in early 1934. At this early point in the campaign they saw President Roosevelt as an ally. (You will notice that page 19 of the Plan quotes President Roosevelt at length.) Townsend fully expected Roosevelt to endorse his plan. Roosevelt, like most establishment figures of the era, saw the Townsend Plan as irresponsible and unworkable. Indeed, there is some evidence that Roosevelt was prodded to introduce his Social Security proposal to counter the growing influence of the Townsend Plan. Townsend and his followers were bitterly disappointed with Social Security because it did not promise immediate payments in 1935, because the benefits Social Security promised were small compared to the $200 per month that Townsend wanted, and because people had to work under the Social Security program to earn a payment.



