On this day in 1933, Michigan passed the Old Age Assistance Act. And in 1845, the first issue of the Detroit Daily News was published, laying the foundation for today’s Detroit News.
TRANSCRIPT
Before the days of Social Security there wasn’t really a safety net for older Americans, except in Michigan. In 1933, Gov. William A Comstock signed the Old Age Assistance Act into law. It provided up to 30 dollars for people 70 years old or older, though they have to have lived in Michigan for at least a decade. It began as The Great Depression took hold of the US, and Michigan, as an industrial state, was hit much harder than other parts, such that our unemployment hit 34 percent. Michigan was one of 10 states to create the program in 1933, predecessors to today’s Social Security.
It was a hot summer day in 1845 when the first issue of the Detroit daily news rolled hot off the presses. The Daily News was published up until 1873 when it was renamed the Evening News. And later in 1905 they merged with the Detroit Tribune and thus the Detroit News was born.