Ida Merriam was one of the seminal figures in the
early administration of the Social Security program and was one
of the most prominent women associated with the early years of the
program. She started work at SSA in 1936 and was one of the many
young, idealistic New Dealers who came into government service during
the Roosevelt years. Dr. Merriam was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of
Wellesley and received a Ph.D. in economics from the Brookings Graduate
School of Economics in 1928.
At SSA, Ida Merriam spent her entire career, from 1936-1972, in
SSA's research and statistics bureau. She began as a researcher
and rose to head the research and statistics organization at SSA.
For many decades SSA's research and statistics operation was a premier
one, surpassing, in its areas of expertise, any available inside
or outside of government. It was Ida Merriam, along with one or
two others, who shaped the research tradition at SSA.
Ida Merriam gave an extensive oral history interview in 1982 as
part of the Women in the Federal Government Project. This interview
is on file in the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College and in
the SSA History Archives.
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