The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was set up on May 6, 1935, by presidential order, as a key part of the
Second New Deal
The Second New Deal is a term used by historians to characterize the second stage, 1935–36, of the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The most famous laws included the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, the Banking Act, the W ...
.
The WPA's first appropriation in 1935 was $4.9 billion (about $15 per person in the U.S., around 6.7 percent of the 1935 GDP). Headed by
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...
, the WPA supplied paid jobs to the unemployed during the
Great Depression in the United States
In the United States, the Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and then spread worldwide. The nadir came in 1931–1933, and recovery came in 1940. The stock market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high un ...
, while building up the public infrastructure of the US, such as parks, schools, and roads. Most of the jobs were in construction, building more than 620,000 miles (1,000,000 km) of streets and over 10,000 bridges, in addition to many airports and much housing. The largest single project of the WPA was the
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...
.
At its peak in 1938, it supplied paid jobs for three million unemployed men and women, as well as youth in a separate division, the
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...
. Between 1935 and 1943, the WPA employed 8.5 million people (about half the population of New York). Hourly wages were typically kept well below industry standards. Full employment, which was reached in 1942 and appeared as a long-term national goal around 1944, was not the goal of the WPA; rather, it tried to supply one paid job for all families in which the
breadwinner
The breadwinner model is a paradigm of family centered on a breadwinner, "the member of a family who earns the money to support the others." Traditionally, the earner works outside the home to provide the family with income and benefits such as he ...
suffered long-term unemployment.
In one of its most famous projects,
Federal Project Number One
Federal Project Number One, also referred to as Federal One, is the collective name for a group of projects under the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program in the United States. Of the $4.88 billion allocated by the Emergency Relief ...
, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The five projects dedicated to these were: the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), the
Historical Records Survey
The Historical Records Survey (HRS) was a project of the Works Progress Administration New Deal program in the United States. Originally part of the Federal Writers' Project, it was devoted to surveying and indexing historically significant reco ...
(HRS), the
Federal Theatre Project
The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United ...
(FTP), the
Federal Music Project
The Federal Music Project (FMP) was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government which employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression. In addition to performing thousan ...
(FMP), and the
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...
(FAP). In the Historical Records Survey, for instance, many former slaves in the South were interviewed; these documents are of immense importance to American history. Theater and music groups toured throughout the United States and gave more than 225,000 performances. Archaeological investigations under the WPA were influential in the rediscovery of pre-Columbian Native American cultures, and the development of professional archaeology in the US.
The WPA was a
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
program that ran its own projects in cooperation with
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
and
local
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
governments, which supplied 10–30% of the costs. Usually, the local sponsor provided land and often trucks and supplies, with the WPA responsible for wages (and for the salaries of supervisors, who were not on relief). WPA sometimes took over state and local relief programs that had originated in the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was a government corporation administered by the United States Federal Government between 1932 and 1957 that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgag ...
(RFC) or
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Adm ...
programs (FERA). It was liquidated on June 30, 1943, because of low unemployment during World War II. Robert D. Leininger asserted: "millions of people needed subsistence incomes. Work relief was preferred over public assistance (the dole) because it maintained self-respect, reinforced the work ethic, and kept skills sharp."
Establishment
On May 6, 1935, FDR issued
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
7034, establishing the Works Progress Administration. The WPA superseded the work of the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Adm ...
, which was dissolved. Direct relief assistance was permanently replaced by a national work relief program—a major
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
program directed by the WPA.
The WPA was largely shaped by
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...
, supervisor of the
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Adm ...
and close adviser to Roosevelt. Both Roosevelt and Hopkins believed that the route to economic recovery and the lessened importance of the dole would be in employment programs such as the WPA.
Hallie Flanagan
Hallie Flanagan Davis (August 27, 1889 in Redfield, South Dakota – June 23, 1969 in Old Tappan, New Jersey) was an American theatrical producer and director, playwright, and author, best known as director of the Federal Theatre Project, a pa ...
, national director of the
Federal Theatre Project
The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United ...
, wrote that "for the first time in the relief experiments of this country the preservation of the skill of the worker, and hence the preservation of his self-respect, became important."
The WPA was organized into the following divisions:
* The Division of Engineering and Construction, which planned and supervised construction projects including airports, dams, highways and sanitation systems.
* The Division of Professional and Service Projects (called the Division of Women's and Professional Projects in 1937), which was responsible for white-collar projects including education programs, recreation programs, and the arts projects. It was later named the Division of Community Service Programs and the Service Division.
* The Division of Finance.
* The Division of Information.
* The Division of Investigation, which succeeded a comparable division at FERA and investigated fraud, misappropriation of funds and disloyalty.
* The Division of Statistics, also known as the Division of Social Research.
* The Project Control Division, which processed project applications.
* Other divisions including the Employment, Management, Safety, Supply, and Training and Reemployment.
Employment
The goal of the WPA was to employ most of the unemployed people on relief until the economy recovered.
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...
testified to Congress in January 1935 why he set the number at 3.5 million, using
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Adm ...
data. Estimating costs at $1,200 per worker per year ($ in present-day terms), he asked for and received $4 billion ($ in present-day terms). Many women were employed, but they were few compared to men.
In 1935 there were 20 million people on relief in the United States. Of these, 8.3 million were children under 16 years of age; 3.8 million were persons between the ages of 16 and 65 who were not working or seeking work. These included housewives, students in school, and incapacitated persons. Another 750,000 were person age 65 or over. Thus, of the total of 20 million persons then receiving relief, 13 million were not considered eligible for employment. This left a total of 7 million presumably employable persons between the ages of 16 and 65 inclusive. Of these, however, 1.65 million were said to be farm operators or persons who had some non-relief employment, while another 350,000 were, despite the fact that they were already employed or seeking work, considered incapacitated. Deducting this 2 million from the total of 7.15 million, there remained 5.15 million persons age 16 to 65, unemployed, looking for work, and able to work.
Because of the assumption that only one worker per family would be permitted to work under the proposed program, this total of 5.15 million was further reduced by 1.6 million—the estimated number of workers who were members of families with two or more employable people. Thus, there remained a net total of 3.55 million workers in as many households for whom jobs were to be provided.
The WPA reached its peak employment of 3,334,594 people in November 1938. To be eligible for WPA employment, an individual had to be an American citizen, 18 or older, able-bodied, unemployed, and certified as in need by a local public relief agency approved by the WPA. The WPA Division of Employment selected the worker's placement to WPA projects based on previous experience or training. Worker pay was based on three factors: the region of the country, the degree of
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
, and the individual's
skill
A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of wo ...
. It varied from $19 per month to $94 per month, with the average wage being about $52.50—$ in present-day terms. The goal was to pay the local prevailing wage, but limit the hours of work to 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week; the stated minimum being 30 hours a week, or 120 hours a month.
Being a voter or a Democrat was not a prerequisite for a relief job. Federal law specifically prohibited any political discrimination against WPA workers. Vague charges were bandied about at the time. The consensus of experts is that: “In the distribution of WPA project jobs as opposed to those of a supervisory and administrative nature politics plays only a minor in comparatively insignificant role." However those who were hired were reminded at election time that FDR created their job and the Republicans would take it away. The great majority voted accordingly.
Projects
WPA projects were administered by the Division of Engineering and Construction and the Division of Professional and Service Projects. Most projects were initiated, planned and sponsored by states, counties or cities. Nationwide projects were sponsored until 1939.
The WPA built traditional infrastructure of the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
such as roads, bridges, schools, libraries, courthouses, hospitals, sidewalks, waterworks, and post-offices, but also constructed museums, swimming pools, parks, community centers, playgrounds, coliseums, markets, fairgrounds, tennis courts, zoos, botanical gardens, auditoriums, waterfronts, city halls, gyms, and university unions. Most of these are still in use today. The amount of infrastructure projects of the WPA included 40,000 new and 85,000 improved buildings. These new buildings included 5,900 new schools; 9,300 new auditoriums, gyms, and recreational buildings; 1,000 new libraries; 7,000 new dormitories; and 900 new armories. In addition, infrastructure projects included 2,302 stadiums, grandstands, and bleachers; 52 fairgrounds and rodeo grounds; 1,686 parks covering 75,152 acres; 3,185 playgrounds; 3,026 athletic fields; 805 swimming pools; 1,817 handball courts; 10,070 tennis courts; 2,261 horseshoe pits; 1,101 ice-skating areas; 138 outdoor theatres; 254 golf courses; and 65 ski jumps. Total expenditures on WPA projects through June 1941 totaled approximately $11.4 billion—the equivalent of $ today. Over $4 billion was spent on highway, road, and street projects; more than $1 billion on public buildings, including the iconic
Dock Street Theatre
The Dock Street Theatre is a theater in the historic French Quarter neighborhood of downtown Charleston, South Carolina.
History
The structure, which was built as a hotel in 1809 and converted to a theater in 1935, occupies the site of the first ...
in Charleston, the
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, ...
in Los Angeles, and
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during th ...
in Oregon's
Mount Hood National Forest
The Mount Hood National Forest is a U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon, located east of the city of Portland and the northern Willamette River valley. The Forest extends south from the Columbia River Gorge across more than of fore ...
.
More than $1 billion—$ today—was spent on publicly owned or operated utilities; and another $1 billion on welfare projects, including sewing projects for women, the distribution of surplus commodities, and school lunch projects. One construction project was the
Merritt Parkway
The Merritt Parkway (also known locally as "The Merritt") is a limited-access parkway in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a small section at the northern end in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County. ...
in Connecticut, the bridges of which were each designed as architecturally unique. In its eight-year run, the WPA built 325 firehouses and renovated 2,384 of them across the United States. The 20,000 miles of water mains, installed by their hand as well, contributed to increased fire protection across the country.
The direct focus of the WPA projects changed with need. In 1935 priority projects were to improve infrastructure; roads, extension of electricity to rural areas, water conservation, sanitation and flood control. In 1936, as outlined in that year's
Emergency Relief Appropriations Act
The Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 was passed on April 8, 1935, as a part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. It was a large public works program that included the Works Progress Administration, Works Progress Administration (WPA), Public ...
, public facilities became a focus; parks and associated facilities, public buildings, utilities, airports, and transportation projects were funded. The following year, saw the introduction of agricultural improvements, such as the production of marl fertilizer and the eradication of fungus pests. As the Second World War approached, and then eventually began, WPA projects became increasingly defense related.
One project of the WPA was funding state-level library service demonstration projects, to create new areas of library service to underserved populations and to extend rural service. Another project was the
Household Service Demonstration Project
The Household Service Demonstration Project (HSDP) was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project designed to train women for domestic employment.
History
The project was an offshoot of the Household Workers’ Training Program. The WPA annou ...
, which trained 30,000 women for domestic employment.
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
had one of the larger statewide library service demonstration projects. At the end of the project in 1943, South Carolina had twelve publicly funded county libraries, one regional library, and a funded state library agency.
Federal Project Number One
A significant aspect of the Works Progress Administration was the
Federal Project Number One
Federal Project Number One, also referred to as Federal One, is the collective name for a group of projects under the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program in the United States. Of the $4.88 billion allocated by the Emergency Relief ...
, which had five different parts: the
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...
, the
Federal Music Project
The Federal Music Project (FMP) was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government which employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression. In addition to performing thousan ...
, the
Federal Theatre Project
The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United ...
, the
Federal Writers' Project
The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program. It ...
, and the
Historical Records Survey
The Historical Records Survey (HRS) was a project of the Works Progress Administration New Deal program in the United States. Originally part of the Federal Writers' Project, it was devoted to surveying and indexing historically significant reco ...
. The government wanted to provide new federal cultural support instead of just providing direct grants to private institutions. After only one year, over 40,000 artists and other talented workers had been employed through this project in the United States. Cedric Larson stated that "The impact made by the five major cultural projects of the WPA upon the national consciousness is probably greater in total than anyone readily realizes. As channels of communication between the administration and the country at large, both directly and indirectly, the importance of these projects cannot be overestimated, for they all carry a tremendous appeal to the eye, the ear, or the intellect—or all three."
Federal Art Project
This project was directed by
Holger Cahill
Edgar Holger Cahill (January 13, 1887 – July 8, 1960) was an Icelandic-American curator, writer, and arts administrator who served as the national director of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration during the New Deal in th ...
, and in 1936 employment peaked at over 5,300 artists. The Arts Service Division created illustrations and posters for the WPA writers, musicians, and theaters. The Exhibition Division had public exhibitions of artwork from the WPA, and artists from the Art Teaching Division were employed in settlement houses and community centers to give classes to an estimated 50,000 children and adults. They set up over 100 art centers around the country that served an estimated eight million individuals.
Cleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Sev ...
, the
Federal Music Project
The Federal Music Project (FMP) was a part of the New Deal program Federal Project Number One provided by the U.S. federal government which employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression. In addition to performing thousan ...
employed over 16,000 musicians at its peak. Its purpose was to create jobs for unemployed musicians, It established new ensembles such as chamber groups, orchestras, choral units, opera units, concert bands, military bands, dance bands, and theater orchestras. They gave 131,000 performances and programs to 92 million people each week. The Federal Music Project performed plays and dances, as well as radio dramas. In addition, the Federal Music Project gave music classes to an estimated 132,000 children and adults every week, recorded folk music, served as copyists, arrangers, and librarians to expand the availability of music, and experimented in music therapy. Sokoloff stated, "Music can serve no useful purpose unless it is heard, but these totals on the listeners' side are more eloquent than statistics as they show that in this country there is a great hunger and eagerness for music."
Federal Theatre Project
In 1929, Broadway alone had employed upwards of 25,000 workers, onstage and backstage; in 1933, only 4,000 still had jobs. The Actors’ Dinner Club and the Actors’ Betterment Association were giving out free meals every day. Every theatrical district in the country suffered as audiences dwindled. The New Deal project was directed by playwright
Hallie Flanagan
Hallie Flanagan Davis (August 27, 1889 in Redfield, South Dakota – June 23, 1969 in Old Tappan, New Jersey) was an American theatrical producer and director, playwright, and author, best known as director of the Federal Theatre Project, a pa ...
, and employed 12,700 performers and staff at its peak. They presented more than 1,000 performances each month to almost one million people, produced 1,200 plays in the four years it was established, and introduced 100 new playwrights. Many performers later became successful in Hollywood including
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
,
John Houseman
John Houseman (born Jacques Haussmann; September 22, 1902 – October 31, 1988) was a Romanian-born British-American actor and producer of theatre, film, and television. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director ...
,
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...
,
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and ''Sabr ...
,
Canada Lee
Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata; March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an American professional boxer and then an actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor ...
,
Will Geer
Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...
,
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blackliste ...
,
Virgil Thomson
Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...
,
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor best known for the 1955 film ''Rebel Without a Cause.'' He is appreciated for many narrative features pr ...
,
E.G. Marshall
E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...
and
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976), ...
. The Federal Theatre Project was the first project to end; it was terminated in June 1939 after Congress zeroed out the funding.
Federal Writers' Project
This project was directed by
Henry Alsberg
Henry Garfield Alsberg (September 21, 1881November 1, 1970) was an American journalist and writer who served as the founding director of the Federal Writers' Project.
A lawyer by training, he was a foreign correspondent during the Russian Rev ...
and employed 6,686 writers at its peak in 1936. By January 1939, more than 275 major books and booklets had been published by the FWP. Most famously, the FWP created the
American Guide Series
The American Guide Series includes books and pamphlets published from 1937 to 1941 under the auspices of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP), a Depression-era program that was part of the larger Works Progress Administration in the United States. T ...
, which produced thorough guidebooks for every state that include descriptions of towns, waterways, historic sites, oral histories, photographs, and artwork. An association or group that put up the cost of publication sponsored each book, the cost was anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000. In almost all cases, the book sales were able to reimburse their sponsors. Additionally, another important part of this project was to record oral histories to create archives such as the
Slave Narrative
The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved Africans, particularly in the Americas. Over six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist; about 150 narratives were published as s ...
s and collections of folklore. These writers also participated in research and editorial services to other government agencies.
Historical Records Survey
This project was the smallest of Federal Project Number One and served to identify, collect, and conserve United States' historical records. It is one of the biggest bibliographical efforts and was directed by Dr. Luther H. Evans. At its peak, this project employed more than 4,400 workers.
File:Little Miss Muffet 1940 poster.jpg, 1940 WPA poster using '' Little Miss Muffet'' to promote reading among children.
File:WPA-Cancer-Poster-Herzog.jpg, WPA health education poster about cancer, c. 1936–1938
File:The nickel and dime store, WPA poster, ca. 1941.jpg, Poster for the WPA shows various items that can be purchased at the 5 & 10¢ store
File:Art classes for children LCCN98510141.jpg, WPA poster advertising art classes for children
File:WPA_Zoo_Poster-Elephant.jpg, WPA poster promoting the zoo as a place to visit, showing an elephant
File:WPA_Theatre_Poster-Abraham_Lincoln.jpg, 1936 WPA Poster for Federal Theatre Project presentation
File:WPA-Work-Pays-America-Poster.jpg, WPA poster encouraging laborers to work for America
Library Services Program
Before the Great Depression, it was estimated that one-third of the population in the United States did not have reasonable access to public library services. Understanding the need, not only to maintain existing facilities but to expand library services led to the establishment of the WPA's Library Projects. With the onset of the Depression local governments facing declining revenues were unable to maintain social services, including libraries. This lack of revenue exacerbated problems of library access that were already widespread. In 1934 only two states, Massachusetts and Delaware, provided their total population access to public libraries. In many rural areas, there were no libraries, and where they did exist, reading opportunities were minimal. 66% of the South's population did not have access to any public library. Libraries that existed circulated one book per capita. The early emphasis of these programs was on extending library services to rural populations, by creating libraries in areas that lacked facilities. The WPA library program also greatly augmented reader services in metropolitan and urban centers.
By 1938, the WPA Library Services Project had established 2,300 new libraries, 3,400 reading rooms in existing libraries, and 53 traveling libraries for sparsely settled area Federal money for these projects could only be spent on worker wages, therefore local municipalities would have to provide upkeep on properties and purchase equipment and materials. At the local level, WPA libraries relied on funding from county or city officials or funds raised by local community organizations such as women's clubs. Due to limited funding, many WPA libraries were "little more than book distribution stations: tables of materials under temporary tents, a tenant home to which nearby readers came for their books, a school superintendents' home, or a crossroads general store." The public response to the WPA libraries was extremely positive. For many, "the WPA had become 'the breadline of the spirit.'"
At its height in 1938, there were 38,324 people, primarily women, employed in library services programs, while 25,625 were employed in library services and 12,696 were employed in bookbinding and repair.
Because book repair was an activity that could be taught to unskilled workers and once trained, could be conducted with little supervision, repair and mending became the main activity of the WPA Library Project. The basic rationale for this change was that the mending and repair projects saved public libraries and school libraries thousands of dollars in acquisition costs while employing needy women who were often heads of households.
By 1940, the WPA Library Project, now the Library Services Program, began to shift its focus as the entire WPA began to move operations towards goals of national defense. WPA Library Programs served those goals in two ways: 1.) existing WPA libraries could distribute materials to the public on the nature of an imminent national defense emergency and the need for national defense preparation, and 2.) the project could provide supplementary library services to military camps and defense impacted communities.
By December 1941, the number of people employed in WPA library work was only 16,717. In May of the following year, all statewide Library Projects were reorganized as WPA War Information Services Programs. By early 1943, the work of closing war information centers had begun. The last week of service for remaining WPA library workers was March 15, 1943.
While it is difficult to quantify the success or failure of WPA Library Projects relative to other WPA programs, "what is incontestable is the fact that the library projects provided much-needed employment for mostly female workers, recruited many to librarianship in at least semiprofessional jobs, and retained librarians who may have left the profession for other work had employment not come through federal relief...the WPA subsidized several new ventures in readership services such as the widespread use of bookmobiles and supervised reading rooms – services that became permanent in post-depression and postwar American libraries."
In extending library services to people who lost their libraries (or never had a library to begin with) WPA Library Services Projects achieved phenomenal success, made significant permanent gains, and had a profound impact on library life in America.
African Americans
The share of
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Adm ...
and WPA benefits for African Americans exceeded their proportion of the general population. The FERA's first relief census reported that more than two million African Americans were on relief during early 1933, a proportion of the African-American population (17.8%) that was nearly double the proportion of whites on relief (9.5%).John Salmond, "The New Deal and the Negro" in John Braeman et al., eds. ''The New Deal: The National Level'' (1975). pp 188–89 This was during the period of
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
and
racial segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
in the South, when blacks were largely
disenfranchised
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
.
By 1935, there were 3,500,000 African Americans (men, women and children) on relief, almost 35 percent of the African-American population; plus another 250,000 African-American adults were working on WPA projects. Altogether during 1938, about 45 percent of the nation's African-American families were either on relief or were employed by the WPA.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
leaders initially objected that African Americans were proportionally underrepresented. African American leaders made such a claim with respect to WPA hires in New Jersey, stating, "In spite of the fact that Blacks indubitably constitute more than 20 percent of the State's unemployed, they composed 15.9% of those assigned to W.P.A. jobs during 1937." Nationwide in 1940, 9.8% of the population were African American.
However, by 1941, the perception of discrimination against African Americans had changed to the point that the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
magazine ''Opportunity'' hailed the WPA:
It is to the eternal credit of the administrative officers of the WPA that discrimination on various projects because of race has been kept to a minimum and that in almost every community Negroes have been given a chance to participate in the work program. In the South, as might have been expected, this participation has been limited, and differential wages on the basis of race have been more or less effectively established; but in the northern communities, particularly in the urban centers, the Negro has been afforded his first real opportunity for employment in white-collar occupations.
The WPA mostly operated segregated units, as did its youth affiliate, the
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...
. Blacks were hired by the WPA as supervisors in the North; however of 10,000 WPA supervisors in the South, only 11 were black. Historian Anthony Badger argues, "New Deal programs in the South routinely discriminated against blacks and perpetuated segregation."
People with physical disabilities
The
League of the Physically Handicapped
The League of the Physically Handicapped was an early 20th century disability rights organization in New York City. It was formed in May 1935 to protest discrimination by the Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA ...
in New York was organized in May 1935 to end discrimination by the WPA against the physically disabled unemployed. The city's Home Relief Bureau coded applications by the physically disabled applicants as "PH" ("physically handicapped"). Thus they were not hired by the WPA. In protest, the League held two
sit-ins
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
in 1935. The WPA relented and created 1,500 jobs for physically disabled workers in New York City.
Women
About 15% of the household heads on relief were women, and youth programs were operated separately by the
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...
. The average worker was about 40 years old (about the same as the average family head on relief).
WPA policies were consistent with the strong belief of the time that husbands and wives should not both be working (because the second person working would take one job away from some other breadwinner). A study of 2,000 female workers in Philadelphia showed that 90% were married, but wives were reported as living with their husbands in only 18 percent of the cases. Only 2 percent of the husbands had private employment. Of the 2,000 women, all were responsible for one to five additional people in the household.
In rural Missouri, 60% of the WPA-employed women were without husbands (12% were single; 25% widowed; and 23% divorced, separated or deserted). Thus, only 40% were married and living with their husbands, but 59% of the husbands were permanently disabled, 17% were temporarily disabled, 13% were too old to work, and remaining 10% were either unemployed or disabled. Most of the women worked with sewing projects, where they were taught to use sewing machines and made clothing and bedding, as well as supplies for hospitals, orphanages, and adoption centers.
One WPA-funded project, the
Pack Horse Library Project
The Pack Horse Library Project was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) program that delivered books to remote regions in the Appalachian Mountains between 1935 and 1943. Women were very involved in the project which eventually had 30 different ...
, mainly employed women to deliver books to rural areas in eastern Kentucky. Many of the women employed by the project were the sole breadwinners for their families.
Criticism
The WPA had numerous critics. The strongest attacks were that it was the prelude for a national political machine on behalf of Roosevelt. Reformers secured the
Hatch Act of 1939
The Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law. Its main provision prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president and vice presi ...
that largely depoliticized the WPA.
Others complained that far left elements played a major role, especially in the New York City unit. Representative
J. Parnell Thomas
John Parnell Thomas (January 16, 1895 – November 19, 1970) was a stockbroker and politician. He was elected to seven terms as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from New Jersey as a Republican Party (United States), Re ...
of the
House Committee on Un-American Activities
The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
claimed in 1938 that divisions of the WPA were a "hotbed of Communists" and "one more link in the vast and unparalleled New Deal propaganda network."
Much of the criticism of the distribution of projects and funding allotment is a result of the view that the decisions were politically motivated. The South, as the poorest region of the United States, received 75 percent less in federal relief and public works funds per capita than the West. Critics would point to the fact that Roosevelt's Democrats could be sure of voting support from the South, whereas the West was less of a sure thing;
swing state
In American politics, the term swing state (also known as battleground state or purple state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican candidate in a statewide election, most often referring to pre ...
s took priority over the other states.
There was a perception that WPA employees were not diligent workers, and that they had little incentive to give up their
busy work
Busy work (also known as make-work and busywork) is an activity that is undertaken to pass time and stay busy but in and of itself has little or no actual value. Busy work occurs in business, military and other settings, in situations where peop ...
in favor of productive jobs. Some employers said that the WPA instilled poor work habits and encouraged inefficiency. Some job applicants found that a WPA work history was viewed negatively by employers, who said they had formed poor work habits.
A Senate committee reported that, "To some extent the complaint that WPA workers do poor work is not without foundation. ... Poor work habits and incorrect techniques are not remedied. Occasionally a supervisor or a foreman demands good work." The WPA and its workers were ridiculed as being lazy. The organization's initials were said to stand for "We Poke Along" or "We Putter Along" or "We Piddle Around" or "Whistle, Piss and Argue." These were sarcastic references to WPA projects that sometimes slowed down deliberately because foremen had an incentive to keep going, rather than finish a project.
The WPA's Division of Investigation proved so effective in preventing political corruption "that a later congressional investigation couldn't find a single serious irregularity it had overlooked," wrote economist
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, who is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, Krugman was th ...
. "This dedication to honest government wasn't a sign of Roosevelt's personal virtue; rather, it reflected a political imperative. FDR's mission in office was to show that government activism works. To maintain that mission's credibility he needed to keep his administration's record clean. And he did."
Many complaints were recorded from private industry at the time that the existence of WPA works programs made hiring new workers difficult. The WPA claimed to counter this by keeping hourly wages well below private wages and encouraging relief workers to actively seek private employment and accept job offers if they got them.
Evolution
On December 23, 1938, after leading the WPA for three and a half years,
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...
resigned and became the
Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
. To succeed him Roosevelt appointed Francis C. Harrington, a colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers and the WPA's chief engineer, who had been leading the Division of Engineering and Construction.
Following the passage of the
Reorganization Act of 1939
The Reorganization Act of 1939, , codified at , is an American Act of Congress which gave the President of the United States the authority to hire additional confidential staff and reorganize the executive branch (within certain limits) for two y ...
in April 1939, the WPA was grouped with the
Bureau of Public Roads
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
,
United States Housing Authority
The United States Housing Authority, or USHA, was a federal agency created during 1937 within the United States Department of the Interior by the Housing Act of 1937 as part of the New Deal.
It was designed to lend money to the states or commu ...
and the
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...
under the newly created
Federal Works Agency The Federal Works Agency (FWA) was an independent agency of the federal government of the United States which administered a number of public construction, building maintenance, and public works relief functions and laws from 1939 to 1949. Along wit ...
. Created at the same time, the
Federal Security Agency
The Federal Security Agency (FSA) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1939 pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939. For a time, the agency oversaw food a ...
assumed the WPA's responsibility for the
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...
. "The name of the Works Progress Administration has been changed to Work Projects Administration in order to make its title more descriptive of its major purpose," President Roosevelt wrote when announcing the reorganization.
As WPA projects became more subject to the state, local sponsors were called on to provide 25% of project costs. As the number of public works projects slowly diminished, more projects were dedicated to preparing for war. Having languished since the end of World War I, the American military services were depopulated and served by crumbling facilities; when Germany occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938, the U.S. Army numbered only 176,000 soldiers.
On May 26, 1940, FDR delivered a
fireside chat
The fireside chats were a series of evening radio addresses given by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, between 1933 and 1944. Roosevelt spoke with familiarity to millions of Americans about recovery from the Great De ...
to the American people about "the approaching storm", and on June 6 Harrington reprioritized WPA projects, anticipating a major expansion of the U.S. military. "Types of WPA work to be expedited in every possible way to include, in addition to airports and military airfields, construction of housing and other facilities for enlarged military garrisons, camp and cantonment construction, and various improvements in navy yards," Harrington said. He observed that the WPA had already made substantial contributions to national defense over its five years of existence, by building 85 percent of the new airports in the U.S. and making $420 million in improvements to military facilities. He predicted there would be 500,000 WPA workers on defense-related projects over the next 12 months, at a cost of $250 million. The estimated number of WPA workers needed for defense projects was soon revised to between 600,000 and 700,000. Vocational training for war industries was also begun by the WPA, with 50,000 trainees in the program by October 1940.
"Only the WPA, having employed millions of relief workers for more than five years, had a comprehensive awareness of the skills that would be available in a full-scale national emergency," wrote journalist Nick Taylor. "As the country began its preparedness buildup, the WPA was uniquely positioned to become a major defense agency."
Harrington died suddenly, aged 53, on September 30, 1940. Notably apolitical—he boasted that he had never voted—he had deflected Congressional criticism of the WPA by bringing attention to its building accomplishments and its role as an employer. Harrington's successor, Howard O. Hunter, served as head of the WPA until May 1, 1942.
Termination
Unemployment ended with war production for
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, as millions of men joined the services, and
cost-plus contract
A cost-plus contract, also termed a cost plus contract, is a contract such that a contractor is paid for all of its allowed expenses, ''plus'' additional payment to allow for a profit.
Concluding that a national relief program was no longer needed, Roosevelt directed the Federal Works Administrator to end the WPA in a letter December 4, 1942. "Seven years ago I was convinced that providing useful work is superior to any and every kind of dole. Experience had amply justified this policy," FDR wrote:
By building airports, schools, highways, and parks; by making huge quantities of clothing for the unfortunate; by serving millions of lunches to school children; by almost immeasurable kinds and quantities of service the Work Projects Administration has reached a creative hand into every county in this Nation. It has added to the national wealth, has repaired the wastage of depression, and has strengthened the country to bear the burden of war. By employing eight millions of Americans, with thirty millions of dependents, it has brought to these people renewed hope and courage. It has maintained and increased their working skills; and it has enabled them once more to take their rightful places in public or in private employment.
Roosevelt ordered a prompt end to WPA activities to conserve funds that had been appropriated. Operations in most states ended February 1, 1943. With no funds budgeted for the next fiscal year, the WPA ceased to exist after June 30, 1943.
Legacy
"The agencies of the
Franklin D. Roosevelt administration
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
had an enormous and largely unrecognized role in defining the public space we now use", wrote sociologist Robert D. Leighninger. "In a short period of ten years, the
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...
, the Works Progress Administration, and the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
built facilities in practically every community in the country. Most are still providing service half a century later. It is time we recognized this legacy and attempted to comprehend its relationship to our contemporary situation."
File:COMPANY E OF THE 167TH INFANTRY OF THE ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY; MARSHALL COUNTY,.jpg, Alabama National Guard Armory,
Guntersville, Alabama
Guntersville (previously known as Gunter's Ferry and later Gunter's Landing) is a city and the county seat of Marshall County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,553. Guntersville is located in a HUBZon ...
(1936)
File:Prairie County Courthouse, De Valls Bluff, AR 001.jpg, Prairie County Courthouse,
DeValls Bluff, Arkansas
DeValls Bluff is a city in and the county seat of the southern district of Prairie County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 619 at the 2010 census.
History
Prairie County has always been important to Arkansas for the transportation o ...
(1939)
File:Griffith observatory 2006.jpg,
Griffith Observatory
Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
(1933)
File:Santa Ana City Hall.jpg, Santa Ana City Hall,
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...
(1935)
File:08-06-18LeonHighSchl1.JPG,
Leon High School
Leon High School is a public high school in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is the oldest public high school in the state, and is a part of the Leon County Schools System.
History
Leon High School is one of the oldest high schools in th ...
,
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
(1936–37)
File:St Aug Govt House Museum01.jpg,
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
Macon, Georgia
Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...
(1936–1938)
File:Boise High School Gymnasium.jpg,
Boise High School
Boise High School is a public secondary school in Boise, Idaho, one of five
traditional high schools within the city limits, four of which are in the Boise School District. A three-year comprehensive high school, Boise High is located on the outly ...
Gymnasium,
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
(1936)
File:Midway Airport Airfield.jpg,
Midway International Airport
Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
(1935–1939)
File:Bandshell in Gregg Park.jpg, Gregg Park Bandshell,
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...
(1939)
File:WPA canoe house iowa.jpg, Canoe house,
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
(1937)
File:Jenkins culvert (Gove Co) from NE 1.JPG, Jenkins Culvert,
Gove County, Kansas
Gove County (county code GO) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,718. Its county seat is Gove City, and its most populous city is Quinter.
History
Early history
Eighty (80) million y ...
(1938)
File:Louisville Fire Department Headquarters.jpg,
Louisville Fire Department Headquarters
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
,
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
(1936)
File:BywaterAlvarNOPL2.jpg, Alvar Street Branch,
New Orleans Public Library
The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) is the public library service of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
History
The system began in 1895 in the Fisk Free and Public Library in a building on Lafayette Square. Abijah Fisk was a ...
(1940)
File:WPA Field House.jpg,
WPA Field House and Pump Station
The WPA Field House and Pump Station is a historic water works facility on Henry Bailey Turner Road in Scituate, Massachusetts. The field house at Bound Brook Park was built in 1938–9 with funding from the Works Progress Administration
The ...
,
Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate () is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 19,063 at the 2020 census.
History
The Wampanoag and their neighbors have inhabited ...
(1938)
File:Detroit Naval Armory.jpg,
Detroit Naval Armory
The Detroit Naval Armory is located at 7600 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is also known as the R. Thornton Brodhead Armory. The armory was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1980 and listed on the National Register of Hi ...
,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
(1936–1939)
File:Brandon Auditorium & Fire Hall.jpg,
Brandon Auditorium and Fire Hall
The Brandon Auditorium and Fire Hall, on Holmes Ave. in Brandon, Minnesota, is a historic fire station and other facility. It has also been known as the Brandon Auditorium and City Hall. It was built as a Works Progress Administration project dur ...
,
Brandon, Minnesota
Brandon is a city in Douglas County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 501 at the 2020 census.
History
The village of Brandon was incorporated on November 22, 1881. The current town site was laid out when the railroad was being buil ...
(1936)
File:Milaca City Hall 2.jpg,
Milaca Municipal Hall
The Milaca Municipal Hall or Milaca City Hall, located at 145 Central Ave, South in Milaca, Minnesota, United States, was built using fieldstone, brick, and concrete. The building is a typical example of construction performed by the Works Progress ...
,
Milaca, Minnesota
Milaca ( ) is a city and the county seat of Mille Lacs County, Minnesota. The population was 2,946 at the time of the 2010 census. It is situated on the Rum River.
History
A post office has been in operation at Milaca since 1883. The name Mila ...
Upland, Nebraska
Upland is a village in Franklin County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 143 at the 2010 census.
History
Upland was incorporated as a village in 1894. It was so named due to its lofty elevation. 1925 editionis available for download ...
(1936)
File:Jackie Robinson Play Center entrance.jpg, Jackie Robinson Play Center,
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
(1936)
File:LaGuardia Airport.JPG,
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...
,
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York (1937–1939)
File:Rhinebeck, NY, post office.jpg,
U.S. Post Office
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the Federal government of the Uni ...
Robeson County Agricultural Building
Robeson County Agricultural Building is a historic government office building located at Lumberton, Robeson County, North Carolina. It was built in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration project. It is a two-story, "T"-shaped Colonial Revival st ...
,
Lumberton, North Carolina
Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,025. It is the seat of Robeson County's government.
Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lum ...
Linton, North Dakota
Linton is a city in and the county seat of Emmons County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,071 at the 2020 census. When compared with the other 356 cities in North Dakota, Linton ranks in the top twelve percent based on the num ...
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
(1940)
File:Timberline-Lodge-Interior-13025.jpg,
Timberline Lodge
Timberline Lodge is a mountain lodge on the south side of Mount Hood in Clackamas County, Oregon, about east of Portland. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 by the Works Progress Administration, it was built and furnished by local artisans during th ...
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
(1936–1938)
File:OSLinside.JPG,
Oregon State Library
The State Library of Oregon in Salem, is the library for the U.S. state of Oregon. The mission of the State Library of Oregon is to provide leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians with print disabil ...
,
Salem, Oregon
Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...
(1939)
File:SchenleyPark Bridge Pittsburgh.jpg,
Schenley Park
Schenley Park () is a large municipal park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, between the neighborhoods of Oakland, Greenfield, and Squirrel Hill. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district. In 2011, th ...
,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
(1938–39)
File:McCoy Stadium.jpg,
McCoy Stadium
McCoy Stadium is a former baseball stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1970 through 2020, it served as home field of the Pawtucket Red Sox (PawSox), a Minor League Baseball farm team, affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Completed in 1942, the st ...
,
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
Dock Street Theatre
The Dock Street Theatre is a theater in the historic French Quarter neighborhood of downtown Charleston, South Carolina.
History
The structure, which was built as a hotel in 1809 and converted to a theater in 1935, occupies the site of the first ...
,
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
(1937)
File:Liberty Colored High School.jpg,
Liberty Colored High School
Liberty Colored High School is a former high school for African-American students in Liberty, South Carolina during the period of Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation. It originally was called Liberty Colored Junior High Scho ...
,
Liberty, South Carolina
Liberty is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. It is part of the Greenville– Mauldin– Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city was chartered on March 2, 1876.
Toponymy
How exactly Liberty got its name has b ...
(1937)
File:Dinosaur Park.jpg,
Dinosaur Park
Dinosaur Park is a tourist attraction in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States. Dedicated on May 22, 1936, it contains seven dinosaur sculptures on a hill overlooking the city, created to capitalize on the tourists coming to the Black Hills to s ...
,
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
(1936)
File:BristolMunicipalStadium 1061.jpg,
Bristol Municipal Stadium
Bristol Municipal Stadium, also referred to as the Stone Castle, is an athletic facility located on the campus of Bristol Tennessee High School in Bristol, Tennessee. The structure features a design that is reminiscent of Medieval Gothic archit ...
,
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The ...
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Lometa, Texas
Lometa ( ) is a city in Lampasas County, Texas, United States. The population was 856 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan statistical area.
Geography
Lometa is located at (31.218129, –98.39 ...
(1938–1940)
File:A view fo the Riverwalk from street level.jpg, River Walk,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, Texas (1939)
File:Monroe City Library.jpg, City Library,
Monroe, Utah
Monroe is a city in Sevier County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,256 at the 2010 United States Census.
Geography
Monroe is located in rural central Utah. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 ...
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...
(1938)
File:White Center (WA) Community Center 03.jpg, White Center Fieldhouse,
White Center, Washington
White Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It lies between West Seattle and Burien. The population was 16,631 at the 2020 census.
White Center is sometimes referred to by the nickname "Rat City" ...
Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. This city is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology or West Virginia University, Beckley Campus.
...
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the stat ...
Westboro, Wisconsin
Westboro is a town in Taylor County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 660 at the 2000 census. The census-designated place of Westboro is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Queenstown is also located in the town.
Geog ...
(1936–1938)
File:Natrona County High School.jpg,
Natrona County High School
Natrona County High School (NCHS) is a public secondary school (grades 9–12) located in Casper, Wyoming, United States. It serves Natrona County School District #1, which encompasses all of Natrona County, Wyoming.
The school remains a rival of ...
,
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...
(1941)
See also
*
American Guide Series
The American Guide Series includes books and pamphlets published from 1937 to 1941 under the auspices of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP), a Depression-era program that was part of the larger Works Progress Administration in the United States. T ...
*
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...
*
Federal Project Number One
Federal Project Number One, also referred to as Federal One, is the collective name for a group of projects under the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal program in the United States. Of the $4.88 billion allocated by the Emergency Relief ...
*
Hatch Act of 1939
The Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law. Its main provision prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president and vice presi ...
*
List of Federal Art Project artists
The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) of the Works Progress Administration was the largest of the New Deal art projects. As many as 10,000 artists were employed to create murals, easel paintings, sculpture, graphic art, posters, photography, Inde ...
*
Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt For the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, see:
* Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, first and second terms (1933–1937 and 1937–1941), as U.S. president
* Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, third and fourth terms (1941–1945 and January ...
*
Public Works of Art Project
The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal program designed to employ artists that operated from 1933 to 1934. The program was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department with funding from the Civil Works Admin ...
*
Section of Painting and Sculpture
The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury.
Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...
, in Treasury department
*
New Deal artwork
New Deal artwork is an umbrella term used to describe the creative output organized and funded by the Roosevelt administration’s New Deal response to the Great Depression. This work produced between 1933 and 1942 ranges in content and form f ...
References
Further reading
* Adams, Don; Goldbard, Arlene. "New Deal Cultural Programs: Experiments in Cultural Democracy." ''Webster's World of Cultural Democracy'' 1995.
* Halfmann, Drew, and Edwin Amenta. "Who voted with Hopkins? Institutional politics and the WPA." ''Journal of Policy History'' 13#2 (2001): 251–287 online * Hopkins, June. "The Road Not Taken: Harry Hopkins and New Deal Work Relief" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 29#2 (1999): 306–1 online * Howard, Donald S. ''WPA and federal relief policy'' (1943), 880pp; highly detailed report by the independent Russell Sage Foundation online * Kelly, Andrew, ''Kentucky by Design: The Decorative Arts, American Culture and the Arts Programs of the WPA.'' Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. 2015.
* Larson, Cedric. "The Cultural Projects of the WPA." The Public Opinion Quarterly'' 3#3 (1939): 491–196. Accesse in JSTOR * Leighninger, Robert D. "Cultural Infrastructure: The Legacy of New Deal Public Space." ''
Journal of Architectural Education
The ''Journal of Architectural Education'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by Routledge on behalf of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). It was established in 1947 and the editor-in-chief is Marc J. ...
'' 49, no. 4 (1996): 226–236.
* Leighninger, Robert D., Jr. ''Long-Range Public Investment: the Forgotten Legacy of the New Deal''. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press (2007).
* Lindley, Betty Grimes & Lindley, Ernest K. ''A New Deal for Youth: the Story of the National Youth Administration'' (1938)
* McJimsey George T. ''Harry Hopkins: Ally of the Poor and Defender of Democracy'' (1987 online * Mathews, Jane DeHart. ''Federal Theatre, 1935-1939: Plays, Relief, and Politics'' (Princeton UP 1967 online * Meriam; Lewis. ''Relief and Social Security''. (The Brookings Institution, 1946) online 900pp
* Millett; John D. & Gladys Ogden. ''Administration of Federal Work Relief'' 1941.
* Musher, Sharon Ann. ''Democratic Art: The New Deal's Influence on American Culture.'' (University of Chicago Press, 2015_.
* Rose, Nancy. ''Put to Work: The WPA and Public Employment in the Great Depression'' (2009), brief introduction
* Sargent, James E. "Woodrum's Economy Bloc: The Attack on Roosevelt's WPA, 1937–1939." ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'' (1985): 175–207 in JSTOR * Sheppard, Si. " 'If it wasn't for Roosevelt you wouldn't have this job': The Politics of Patronage and the 1936 Presidential Election in New York." New York History 95.1 (2014): 41–69. excerpt * Singleton, Jeff. ''The American Dole: Unemployment Relief and the Welfare State in the Great Depression'' (2000)
* Smith, Jason Scott. ''Building New Deal Liberalism: the Political Economy of Public Works, 1933–1956'' (2005)
* Taylor, David A. ''Soul of a People: The WPA Writers' Project Uncovers Depression America''. (2009)
* Taylor, Nick. ''American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work'' (2008) comprehensive history; 640p excerpt * Williams, Edward Ainsworth. ''Federal aid for relief'' (Columbia University Press, 1939 online * Young, William H., & Nancy K. ''The Great Depression in America: a Cultural Encyclopedia''. 2 vols. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2007
Dollars & Sense
''Dollars & Sense'' is a magazine focusing on economics from a progressive perspective, published by Dollars & Sense, Inc, which also publishes textbooks in the same genre.
''Dollars & Sense'' describes itself as publishing "economic news and ana ...
. Includes several images from the original WPA.
Living New Deal Project – The Living New Deal Project documents the living legacy of New Deal agencies, including the WPA. The Living New Deal website includes an extensive digital map featuring detailed information about specific WPA projects by location.
Smithsonian Networks
The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilit ...
Connecticut State Library
The Connecticut State Library is the state library for the U.S. state of Connecticut and is also an executive branch agency of the state. It is located in Hartford, Connecticut directly across the street from the Connecticut State Capitol. The Sta ...
University of Nebraska Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library is a library on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO). The library serves as the primary source of academic research information for the UNO community through ...
Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
University of Maryland libraries
The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
University of Michigan Museum of Art
The University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan with is one of the largest university art museums in the United States. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall ori ...
Broward County Library
The Broward County Library is a public library system in Broward County, Florida, in the United States. The system contains 38 branch locations and circulates over 10.5 million items annually. The system includes the Main Library in Fort Lauderd ...
Lucia Wiley
Lucia Wiley (April 14, 1906–August 20, 1998) was a noted New Deal muralist and painter born and raised in Tillamook, Oregon. Lucia Wiley was the oldest of six children and always found herself interested in art, even at a young age. In 1923 ...