>> each week, american history tv's "reel america" brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. your social security is in 1952 u.s. government film designed to explain how the social security system works. the social security act was signed into law by president franklin roosevelt in 1935. after several supreme court cases affirmed its constitutionality, the first benefit payments are made in 1937.

♪ >> our story begins with a young lady named margaret oliver. she is working for you. she is working for four out of every five americans. margaret oliver is your representative at the social security administration. her job is to tell you what your rights are and make sure you understand what social security means to you and you receive the

money you are entitled to promptly when it is due. just as she is helping these people and scores like them every day. the story of margaret oliver's work and your social security goes back a long way. when this was a portrait of the future. when they reached old age, they found themselves lacking the means to meet even their barest needs and they were forced to become wards of public charity. denied the dignity of a happy security, their declining years became a period of hopeless waiting.

alone, these people could not work out the picture of a happy old age. something had to be done. something was done. in 1935, franklin d roosevelt put his signature on the social security act. >> the social security measure gives at least some protections to 30 million of our citizens who will redirect benefits to unemployment compensation through old-age pensions for the protection of children and ill health. >> 15 years later, congress passed a new social security law is a law designed to meet today's needs, signed by president truman in 1950. they give social security a new

meaning for you. today, this is the portrait of a future, a picture which social security helps make possible. most american families are now able to ensure for themselves and income that is guaranteed for life. it is provided not by charity or relief, but by federal old-age and survivors insurance, insurance that is bought and paid for. here is how it works. old-age and survivors insurance is earned by most of, most jobs are now covered by the social security act. after working about 1.5 years, you become insured for the next year and a half. from then on, you are insured for additional year for each six months that you work. at the end of 10 years of work, you are insured for the rest of

your life. a special provision makes it easier for people already past middle age to become insured. the amount of work they need depends on how soon they reach 65. if you are nearing 65 or if you've already passed that age, you may need as little as a year and a half of work. contributions made regularly by you and your fellow workers plus contributions made by your employers pay for the program. the government holds them in trust for payment of benefits to you and your family. the government insurers regularly monthly payments.

they continue as long as you live. after your death, they will continue to your wife if she is over 65. if you should die while your children are under 18, payments will go to your wife and children no matter what your age. if you have no family, supporting your parents, monthly payments will be made to them when they reach 65. federal old-age and survivors insurance is exactly what the name implies. it is insurance that you and your employer have bought and paid for. this insurance is important not only to you, it is important to your wife, children, your parents. it is important to your employer, who helps pay the premium. who is covered by the social security act?

people like these. most people who work for themselves and most people who work for others, 45 million jobs are covered by social security and the chances are that you are working one of them. that is why it is vitally important that you fully understand the social security act. that is why across the nation, hundreds of social security field officers have been set up to serve. the duty of every person -- managers, receptionists, field representatives, and claims assistants -- is to give you the greatest possible service and assistance. since january 1951, a lot of people coming into field offices are workers whose jobs are covered under the new act. they take a moment to apply for social security cards. many have questions. tom reynolds is self-employed.

he is covered by the new social security law. he will report his earnings every year when he pays his federal income tax. perhaps for you, like him, old-age is a long way off. when you reach 65, you may decide to continue to work. your social security account does not mean that you intend to retire. once the account has been opened, the key to your future is in your own hands. this is the key. monthly payments that will be waiting for you if you retire after 65 or after 75, whether you retire or not. they will also be ready for your family when you die. or suppose that this is your office, a big white barn on a

midwestern farm. suppose you are a farmhand, like alvin deckert, you will be covered by the new law when you work regularly for five months on one barn. the insurance will be mighty comforting when you are no longer fit for work like this. that is why you need to get your social security card now. where? at your social security office. or go to the post office. at the post office, you can get an application for your social security card. your card will be sent to you by mail after you fill in this application and mail it. as soon as you get the card, show it to your employer. you will need it on payday. you must deduct from your salary 1.5% of your earnings.

for alvin deckert's salary, this comes to $.75. any questions you may have can be answered in this leaflet on social security for farmworkers or by the claims assistance at your nearest field office. that is where margaret oliver comes in again. she is sure to give you the best possible service and assistance. if, like mildred anderson, you are regularly employed as a household worker, your job is covered by the new law. when you have the regular monthly income you are building up to old-age and survivors

insurance, you can see a happy future. that is what this card means. the entire success of the program depends to a large extent on your employers' cooperation. this booklet tells your employer how easy it is for her to do her part. it is just a matter of filling out a free form four times a year, putting the required amount of money into an envelope, and mailing it. by this cooperation, your employer is helping to ensure that, like mildred anderson, you'll have a monthly income when you are ready to retire. yes, household workers are now among the people covered by the new social security act. since it was passed, social security field offices are busier than ever before, many more workers are insured today than previously. if you cannot go to the field office, the field office goes to

you and representative makes visits. you can find out when he will be in your community by writing or telephoning the field office. if, because of age or illness, you are unable to meet him while he is there, he'll be glad to call on you. social security is a highly personal matter and the job of the representative in the field offices is to maintain personal contact between you and your social security administration. behind them stands an

organization that keeps track of your earnings through the years. ♪ the headquarters are here in baltimore, maryland. this central accounting and bookkeeping system enables the government to fulfill its part in your social security. the names, social security account numbers, birthdays of 746,000 people named brown. 605,000 people named jones. more than a million people named smith. if you have a social security card, your name is here. your name and enough information to identify you positively

regardless of how many people have identical names to yours. these operations are as modern and efficient as mechanical ingenuity can make it. the machines are the best. they have to be. they are one of the reasons less than three cents of the social security tax dollar is all it costs to administer the entire old-age and survivors insurance program. mechanical efficiency may be the keynote, but the fact that these machines are dealing with highly personal -- a record of your earnings and your contributions toward your future security, your name, your social security number, your birthdate, your wages, personal information that must be held in the strictest confidence. your credits build up. when the time comes, whether it

is 30 years from now or tomorrow, those credits will be converted into checks. checks like these, but with your name on them. every month, these checks are put into envelopes by machines and they go out to people like this. the amount of your check depends on how much you earn. the maximum any family can get is $150 a month. geraldine butcher gets $57 a month. nancy ferguson, dependent parent, gets $43 a month. alice winston, widowed mother of

two children, gets the $150 monthly maximum until her children are 18. you must do two things. you must apply for a social security card. this card is key to social security. it is key to a secure old age. if your job is covered by the law, you need a social security card. it is the only way to start your social security record. the second thing you must do yourself is to file your claim for benefit payments.

whether you are claiming old-age retirement payments or survivors payments as a widow, child, or parent, this claim is noticed to the government that payments are due you. your social security card represents an insurance policy, a policy through which you can build a foundation of security for yourself and your family. as a person who is buying and paying for this insurance or of the beneficiary, you are entitled to information on the guidance, and service in all matters that concern it. that service is available to you without charge. behind doors like these, doors to more than 500 field offices throughout the nation, behind those doors, you will find men and women like these, carefully selected and thoroughly trained,

people working for you, like margaret oliver, helping you get the most out of your social security. ♪ >> you can watch "reel america" every weekend on american history tv. search, and browse the topics. this weekend on the c-span networks -- tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, a townhall meeting on the media coverage of events in ferguson, missouri. , richardening at 8:00

norton smith on his biography of rockefeller. halpern, and, jake sunday 2:00 p.m. eastern, the southern festival of books. c-span3,t 8:00 p.m. on the life and legacy of booker t. washington. joint, 8:00 p.m., a operation between the u.s. and iran when the countries were allies. find out television schedule at c-span.org and let us know about the programs you are watching. 202-626-three 400. join the conversation. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter.

>> american history tv, authored donald miller explores manhattan's transformation in the 1920's from an urban backwater to the cultural capital of the united states. miller is author of "supreme city: how jazz age manhattan gave birth to modern america." he describes ambitious individuals such as walter chrysler, who oversaw the skies bigger building boom. we also hear about the creation of cultural and architectural feats that are now a comic symbols of new york city. this event was hosted by the new york public library, and last about 90 minutes. >> thank you, lois. i want to thank the library for