The Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 was passed on April 8, 1935, as a part of

Franklin Delano Roosevelt 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 ...

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 Con ...

. It was a large public works program that included the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Public Works Administration (PWA), 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

Resettlement Administration The Resettlement Administration (RA) was a New Deal U.S. federal agency created May 1, 1935. It relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government. On September 1, 1937, it was succeeded by the Farm S ...

, the Rural Electrification Administration, and other assistance programs. These programs were called the "second New Deal". The programs gave Americans work, for which the government would pay them. The goal was to help unemployment, pull the country out of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, and prevent another depression in the future. This was the first and largest system of public-assistance relief programs in American history, and it led to the largest accumulation of national debt.

Background

Before 1935, many programs focused on direct aid and "the dole".

did not like providing welfare to able workers as it demoralized the unemployed and created dependency on the government, and even the unemployed preferred work relief. He was also concerned about "future problems of unemployment and unprotected old age" and believed that "we have to get it started, or it will never start". At the beginning of 1935, 11.3 million Americans were unemployed, which was nearly 22% of the civilian labor force. In January 1935, Roosevelt announced his plans to alter the current relief programs. On April 8, 1935, Roosevelt introduced the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, which only gave direct aid to people who were unable to work, such as the elderly and the disabled. Despite the word "emergency", this act was created to address a long-term problem. He asked Congress for $4.88 billion – two thirds would go to finance work relief, and the rest would end 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 Admi ...

, the work program created by Roosevelt in 1933 which replaced the

Civil Works Administration The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a short-lived job creation program established by the New Deal during the Great Depression in the United States to rapidly create mostly manual-labor jobs for millions of unemployed workers. The jobs were ...

. He asked for $4 billion to get things going, and $880 million was reallocated from previous appropriations to aid 3.5 million people. The local governments and agencies had already cared for the 1.5 million unemployable relief recipients (e.g. the ill, the aged, the physically handicapped). Of the funds appropriated by the act, $27 million was approved for 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 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 wa ...

and the

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal Pro ...

under the WPA sponsored

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 ...

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By September 1935, the program was failing and looked to some like it might even collapse. There was only $1 billion left, and less than ¼ of the estimated 3.5 million people were employed. There had been many obstacles that led to its downfall, such as: * The bill was delayed in Congress because people demanded that the program pay wages at existing levels * Congressional leaders wanted to allocate the funds to specific categories and agencies, making it difficult to have a smooth transition from the existing program * Conflict between

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 ...

and Harold Ickes – they argued on whether the program should be public works (expensive projects with less relief labor) or work relief ("made work")

Results

Roosevelt had hoped that this would end the Depression and create jobs, but it was unsuccessful. He gave the rest of the appropriation to

, who had created the WPA. Congress contributed to this program throughout the 1930s, but beginning in 1939, funds were reduced. Many programs were discontinued over the years, and in 1943, Congress ended many of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act programs, including WPA and PWA. Unemployment was no longer a major issue because

WWII 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 ...

had created thousands of jobs. Many people complained that "the programs created 'busy work' for the unemployed at the expense of the nation's more affluent citizens." The Rural Electrification Administration, however, was successful. In 1934, only 11% of American farms had electricity, but that rose to 50% by 1942 and almost 100% by the end of the 1940s. The WPA built and renovated thousands of schools, hospitals, and playgrounds.

References

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