This article is an excerpt from the comprehensive book, History of Employee Assistance Programs in the United States (full book available here in the EA Archive - http://hdl.handle.net/10713/12002). In this excerpt, the author, Dr. Dale Masi, writes about the historical beginnings of the EAP field in the U.S. with its roots in occupational social work and occupational alcoholism. She discusses topics such as welfare capitalism and early leaders of the EAP movement in large workplaces in the U.S.