From the earliest colonial days [in America], local governments took responsibility for their poor. However, able-bodied men and women generally were not supported by the taxpayers unless they worked.
Thomas G. West (2000). “Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America”, p.132, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
![From the earliest colonial days [in America], local governments took responsibility for their poor. However, able-bodied men and women generally were not supported by the taxpayers unless they worked.](http://cdn.quoteddaily.com/images/thomas-g-west/from-the-earliest-colonial-days-in-america-local-governments-took-responsibility-for-their-poor-however-able-bodied-men-and-women.jpg)