Allowances for mothers in the prairie provinces of Canada originated when long-term trends converged at a time of unprecedented social, economic, and political crisis for the state. One crisis condition, World War I, afforded an opportunity for the proponents of both female emancipation and prohibition to combine and force concessions from the state. Mothers' allowances represent part of the responses made by governments to the pressures of the day. Importantly, some of these concessions were partial or piecemeal. Convenient remedies for a number of problems facing government, these concessions were never intended to solve major social problems. They did not eliminate poverty, though they mitigated some of its worst effects. It can be argued that government reluctance to expand the terms of reference of the allowance program served to perpetuate the Poor Law values of lesser eligibility underlying present-day Canadian social assistance programs. Mothers' allowances thus provide an interesting case study of the implications of family policy. (RH)