Like many other FTP productions, Triple-A Plowed Under was a great success, but was criticized as Communist propaganda because of its themes of hunger and starvation. The testimony represented a fairly thorough assessment of the program after almost two years of operation by its top administrator (as quoted in Charles, pp. In 1935, Congress also passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, which authorized the single largest expenditure at that time in the country's history: $4.8 billion. 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. Some politicians criticized the WPA for its inefficiencies. In the course of a sometimes-eloquent defense of the program and the place of theatre in giving voice to ordinary people, she referenced renowned sixteenth century playwright Christopher Marlowe, author of Doctor Faustus. The FTP was led by Hallie Flanagan, former head of the Vassar College Experimental Theatre and former classmate of Harry Hopkins at Grinnell College. 2023 . During the 1920s and 1930s, many Americans and, in fact, people all over the world had begun to advocate for more accessible culture. The proud people who did everything they could to avoid direct relief sometimes were not eligible to be hired by the WPA. Communists had taken over Russia, forming the Soviet Union. The vast majority still believe in work. In addition to its well-known building and infrastructure projects, the WPA also oversaw a group of programs collectively known as Federal Project Number One. Roosevelt's belief that direct relief was demoralizing was not without supporters. Many artists employed by the Federal Art Project would later become famous. The WPA was a large and comprehensive organization. Historic Events for Students: The Great Depression. The experience of the depression has proved that the American people still want jobs. The Federal Music Project had a vision of starting regional orchestras all over the country and providing free or low-cost concerts and music lessons. If the pace of criticism is urgent and may demand immediate action, critique can be slow and indirect, and often raises more questions than it answers. Not only did many people credit the program with helping them to survive the Great Depression, but many people also highlighted that the United States was left with many buildings, art, and a richer history because of the workers of the WPA. The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) employed writers, teachers, and others to compile information on all aspects of American life. Roosevelt wanted to do away with such forms of relief. Communists also believed that a fundamental change in the ownership of business and wealth was both desirable and inevitable. When business is recovering, cases of local scarcity of certain kinds of labor are bound to occur from time to time. In the wake of the hearings, Congress passed the 1940 Emergency Relief Appropriations Act. Learn about the history and effects of the Works Progress Administration in the American Midwest during the Great Depression, Discover how Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration helped flourish museums in America, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Works-Progress-Administration, Texas State Historical Association - Handbook of Texas - Work Projects Administration, America's Story from America's Library - The Works Progress Administration, EH.net - The Works Progress Administration, Ohio History Central - Works Progress Administration, Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture - Works Progress Administration (WPA), African American Registry - The Works Progress Administration, A Beginning for Many. (6) Works Progress Administration, Analysis of Civil Works Program Statistics, Washington, DC, 1939, pp. The disagreements regarding the trade-offs involved in the public support of art, however, remained much the same in the 1990s as in the 1930s, with questions as to what federal agencies like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) should and should not be funding. The Saturday Evening Post claimed Flanagan was trying to "Russianize" the Following a difficult childhood that led to him leave home at age of 13, Cahill moved to New York City to become a journalist. Brinkley, Alan. The WPA Oklahoma Slave Narratives. Are they unemployables? In 1935 slavery had been illegal for 70 years. The Roosevelt Administration had intentionally kept wages below those in the private sector, and often below poverty level, in order to avoid making employment for the WPA preferable to employment in private industry. In early 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President of the United States. It was Olive Stanton, the actress who was to sing the opening song. Between 10 and 12 percent of those who participated in the NYA were black Americans, amounting to about 300,000 black men and women. Charles, Searle F. Minister of Relief: Harry Hopkins and the Depression. They also wanted the common art of the people to gain new respect. Others were involved in arts education and research. Track course progress. Oral histories are the memories of a time or event, told in the individual's voice. Edsforth, Ronald. The conservatives saw the appropriate role of the government as being limited and carefully defined. "Legacies of the New Deal," in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), which employed millions of Americans in public works projects, from constructing bridges and roads to painting murals and writing plays. American labor seeks no charity, but only a chance to work for its living. While many of the conservatives were sympathetic to the poverty and hunger around them, they felt that the economy would eventually improve on its own leading to greater employment. They wanted everyone to be able to enjoy a good Shakespeare play or to see a Rembrandt. "Democratizing Culture," in The New Deal: Problems in American Civilization, David E. Hamilton (ed.) Employing almost seven thousand writers, researchers, and librarians in its peak year of 1936, the FWP sought to document many aspects of American life. Hood east of Portland, Oregon. New York City: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1999. As weapons production for World War II began ramping up and unemployment dropped, the federal government decided a national relief program was no longer needed. The WPA did not escape criticism from almost every group in America. America had emerged from World War I (19141918) with strength and a world mission. In this time of massive unemployment, conservatives felt that taxes fell disproportionately upon the wealthy, including the owners of business. Many of the subjects were too pro-labor to suit members of the conservative Congress. Here I am on the slopes of Mount Hood where I have always wanted to come. Studies showed that beyond the meager income the WPA provided, many workers reaped significant psychological benefits from working compared to accepting relief. With a deficiency appropriation of $790,000,000, it is contemplated that $655,000,000 would be made available for the Works Progress Administration, including the National Youth Administration. It became the most controversial of all the WPA programs. Woodward petitioned to have the Women's Division become part of the Professional Division where there might be more seemingly appropriate jobs for women as stenographers and office workers. Which of the following was a criticism of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)? With the high unemployment of the 1930s, many youth were both not in school and not working. In response to this criticism of the FAP art, President Roosevelt responded that though some were good and others were not, it all reflected Americans' perceptions of their nation and the people in it. By 1935 nearly 500,000 women were employed in work relief involving sewing, gardening and canning, and public healthcare among other activities. A means test was given to possible aid recipients to measure their level of need in order to determine if they were eligible for relief. ." Like the others the WPA was created to provide work relief for the unemployed. Because of racial segregation and discrimination in the South, many more black Americans in the North were able to participate in NYA programs than those in the South. Critics, however, felt that much of the art was horribly bad and that anyone could claim to be an artist. Roosevelt and Hopkins also believed that work relief should not be demeaning, especially in this time of high unemployment. (pp. The FTP came under the harshest scrutiny and, ultimately, was disbanded in the face of this criticism. He worked as a mural assistant and later an easel painter between 1938 and 1942. The debate over the worthiness of spending public funds on work relief was non-ending. Omissions? Others raised concerns about the employment by the federal government of such a large number of people. The country was increasingly poor and frightened. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Through the board she directed economic development in the state. The theatre programs she started included the Living Newspaper (a series of plays explaining and commenting on current events), regional theatre productions, and unusual interpretations of traditional plays. There he sought to develop programs for poverty in the state. U.S. Congressional Representatives Martin Dies and J. Parnell Thomas led the House Subcommittee on Un-American Activities in 1938. May 19, 1995, p. B1. Meritocracy (merit, from Latin mere, and -cracy, from Ancient Greek kratos 'strength, power') is the notion of a political system in which economic goods or political power are vested in individual people based on talent, effort, and achievement, rather than wealth or social class. The FWP writers prepared a complete set of The program provided homes for the youth in dormitory-type housing, education and training opportunities, and employment. The Works Progress Administration. Soon after the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt as president in March 1933, Harry Hopkins recruited Williams to be his assistant at the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. FERA provided direct financial aid to the unemployed. example in defense of the WPA, the following excerpts are from an article by David Cushman Coyle published in the March 1939 issue of the journal Forum entitled "The WPALoafers or Workers?" The PWA was an ambitious program that employed workers to construct thousands of new public facilities all across the country. Injury or death often meant the entire family faced imminent poverty and homelessness. PWAP was not designed strictly as a work relief project. The CCC was a work relief program designed to employ a quarter-million young men to build hiking trails, fight forest fires, lay telephone lines, and build dams. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The answer to both questions was the WPA.. The Federal Music and Theatre projects also supported Black musicians and actors. Of all of President Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) is the most famous, because it affected so many people's lives . The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was an ambitious employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, during the bleakest days of the Great Depression. June's National Industrial Recovery Act guaranteed that workers would have the right to unionize and bargain collectively for higher wages and better working conditions; it also suspended some. As a result most of the WPA women ended up in one of nine thousand sewing centers around the country. 392394). Folsom, Franklin. (ed.). Some felt that much of the work was make-work. Many of the projects completed under Federal One documented some aspect of American culture such as its folklore or its music. There was a sense among many citizens that American minds can fix any problem, including economic problems. The WPA had many supporters, particularly those personally helped by the program. The act significantly reduced funding for the WPA and put considerable constraints on remaining programs. The WPA workers completed projects in almost every county in the United States. The production had been cancelled and the unions had decreed that no actor could appear on stage. 75 percent of the WPA workforce worked on engineering and construction projects. This small group of men and women became known as the "Black Cabinet.". The WPA offered projects targeted at unemployed artists, musicians, writers and actors. The problems with effectively using workers' skills and identifying appropriate projects, however, were largely resolved in the first year or so. Almost every corner of the United States realized some improvement due to the WPA workers. Murals depicted workers and, sometimes, union organizers. But it wasn't. It was built by the PWA, the Public Works Administration. Created by President Franklin Roosevelt to relieve the economic hardship of the Great Depression, this national works program (renamed the Work Projects Administration beginning in 1939) employed more than 8.5 million people on 1.4 million public projects before it was disbanded in 1943. outermost parts of our Nation, travelers from the Middle Wet, the South and the East, Americans who are fulfilling a very desirable objective of citizenshipgetting to know their country better. 170171). By choosing to apply for a position within the Works Progress Administration, applicants were indicating that their situation was such that they required the wages to survive. Workers claimed that relief without work was okay to keep from starving, but it damaged self-respect. The New Deal: America's Response to the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration in 1935 was a prime example of this effort. Businesses including banks closed. It put four million people to work within four weeks. In response to the challenge to address the needs of these youth, the NYA developed a residential work program. The men would be employed on projects requiring little investment, such as cleaning neighborhoods and digging drainage ditches. Housema, Lorraine Brown (Ed.). Here, to Mount Hood, will come thousands and thousands of visitors in the coming years . Although critics called the WPA an extension of the dole or a device for creating a huge patronage army loyal to the Democratic Party, the stated purpose of the program was to provide useful work for millions of victims of the Great Depression and thus to preserve their skills and self-respect. Would all the art be propaganda? To meet this threat, Roosevelt asked Congress to pass additional New Deal legislationsometimes called the "Second New Deal"in 1935. In a change of direction Roosevelt and Hopkins designed the WPA to be completely administered by the federal government. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. As the administrators studied the situation of Depression-era youth, however, they determined that many had dropped out of school, often before completing the eighth grade. To that end, wages were intentionally kept significantly below positions in the private sector. The youth would clean, cook, and study and work. . The guidebooks and the oral histories remained as their New Deal legacy. The Works Progress Administration established a number of projects to provide work relief to artists, musicians, writers, and actors. The work was sometimes wonderful, often bad, and occasionally very critical of America, capitalism, and the government. "Admit you are powerless before the word," said Francine Prose, and I've read works-in-progress that has taken my breath away, either in total, or a paragraph, or a scene, or even simply one perfectly-chosen word, and sometimes these moments come from the student you'd least expect to . He had created military youth groups in support of him and his programs. ", In the past few days I have inspected many great governmental activitiesparks and soil protection sponsored by the Works Progress Administration; buildings erected with the assistance of the Public Works Administration; our oldest and best-known National Park, the Yellowstone, under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service; great irrigation areas fathered by the Reclamation Service; and a few hours ago a huge navigation and power dam built by the Army engineers . After World War II, Pollock became a major figure in the abstract expressionism movement. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Ickes, Harold L. The Secret Diary of Harold L. Ickes, Vols. Americans were increasingly organizing to fight for improvements in their daily lives. A New Deal for the Arts. Projects were not carefully chosen or properly supervised. With the introduction of the Works Progress Administration in 1935, the PWA and the WPA were constantly battling for funding until the PWA was disbanded in 1939. Are they tramps? Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. She was an important advocate for black American rights and was the highest ranking black American in the Roosevelt Administration. The Federal Music Project largely realized its vision, performing thousands of low-cost concerts in theaters and schools across the country, and introducing thousands of Americans to different kinds of music. It was a bold experiment in a time of bold actions. At the same time, working conditions for many Americans were increasingly hazardous. Many writers found other work. Liberals deplored the low wages of the WPA. FERA was designed after the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration that Roosevelt had set up in New York when he was governor. Watkins, T.H. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt lobbied FDR to sign the executive order establishing Federal One. By early 1933, 25 percent of the workforce was unemployed amounting to over 12 million people. She was considered "Mother Superior" to the black American men and women working in Cabinet offices and federal agencies. Many of the FTP productions were similarly criticized. Gustaitis, Joseph. They built almost 600,000 miles in new roads and repaired 32,000 miles of existing roads. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1996. One of the most powerful collections compiled by the FWP writers is that of the Slave Narratives consisting of more than two thousand oral histories from black Americans who had formerly been slaves. He felt that reliefoften called direct relief, or "the dole," as in "being on the dole"was detrimental to morale and to self-respect. The following quote is from a press conference in the summer of 1935 soon after the program had begun (as quoted in Charles, p. 131). The explosion in art during the Great Depression has been compared to a similar explosion during the Renaissance in Europe that coincidentally was also supported by government funds. Even in the relatively prosperous 1920s, challenges to the existing economic system were growing. But the WPA was also something more than a work relief program, and that was also part of the design. A month after taking office, the Roosevelt Administration launched the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). 1934: The Art of the New Deal: Smithsonian.com. At its height in late 1938, more than 3.3 million Americans worked for the WPA. Impressed by Williams' dedication to New Deal work relief programs, Hopkins named Williams deputy director of the new Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1933 and then also executive director of the National Youth Administration (NYA). They created more than 40,000 paintings and 1,100 murals. By the early 1940s, however, the Great Depression was waning as employment in war industries greatly increased. The investigations of complaints turn up a surprisingly small number of actual cases of laziness or even of unwillingness to leave the WPA for the risks of private employment. The program collected interviews, articles and notes on Black American life in the South, including oral histories from people who were formerly enslaved. WPA arts programs drew frequent criticism from Congress and the lay public. TAG Archives: WPA Women: The Living New Deal. When FDR took office in 1933, he promised a New Deal for everyone. The Works Progress Administration touched almost every county in the United States. All sorts, of course. The Federal Arts Project, Federal Writers Project, and Federal Theater Projectall under WPA aegisemployed thousands of artists, writers, and actors in such cultural programs as the creation of art work for public buildings, the documentation of local life, and the organization of community theatres; thousands of artists, architects, construction workers, and educators found work in American museums, which flourished during the Great Depression. President Roosevelt's goal was to provide employment to individuals currently on direct relief. NYA workers spruced up schools, landscaped parks, read to the blind, and worked as teacher's aides. The play, to be a production of the Federal Theatre Project, was a celebration of the triumph of labor unions. In 1939 the Works Progress Administration altered its name to Work Projects Administration. The agencys construction projects produced more than 650,000 miles (1,046,000 km) of roads; 125,000 public buildings; 75,000 bridges; 8,000 parks; and 800 airports. Even classic plays received a new treatment when produced by the Federal Theatre Project. And some of us have the only chance we will ever again in our life have to do this job for all the people. Studies showed that WPA workers were more socially adjusted with higher morale than those on direct relief were. This serious unemployment situation which has stunned the Nation for the past year and a half has brought to our attention in a most vivid fashion the need for some sort of relief to protect those men and women who are willing to work but who through no fault of their own cannot find employment. Despite Flanagan's testimony the FTP didn't survive the attack and the Federal Theatre Project was disbanded in 1939. wages, the Roosevelt Administration was in fact delaying recovery. Hopkins was a proponent of work relief and the potential of the government to improve people's lives. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. The range of the productions was astounding. Works Progress Administration. It was the first real federal program in work relief and a precursor to 1935's Works Progress Administration. Having grown up in Washington, DC, Woodward developed an interest in public affairs. The Federal Writers' Project also undertook a major effort in compiling oral histories. On the other side of the political spectrum came criticism from liberals. Demeaning visits by social workers to prove one was sufficiently poor were not necessary. Researchers studied the effects of relief and unemployment on workers. Headed by Harry Hopkins, the WPA provided jobs and income to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States. Only 25 per cent were rated unemployable, the principal reasons for this being old age and poor health. When it was at its largest, the Works Progress Administration employed 30,000 administrators and an average of 2.3 million workers per year between 1935 and 1940. In 1935 he was appointed National Director of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the WPA. In comparison Adolph Hitler was Chancellor of Germany and beginning his rise in Europe. Somewhat more controversial was the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) led by Henry Alsberg. Everyone could enjoy opera and vaudeville; fiddle playing and contemporary art. The movie starred Hank Azaria, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Bill Murray, and Cherry Jones as Hallie Flanagan. All of This Music Belongs to the Nation: The WPA's Federal Music Project and American Society. Cahill was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was going to singthe play was a musicalall the roles since the cast had been ordered not to appear on stage. The committee searched for communist influence the WPA projects. The smallest of the WPA projects, the HRS was directed by Luther Evans and supervised by noted bibliographer Douglas McMurtrie. Are they hoboes and ne'erdowells? This was done even though astronomical unemployment percentages (well into the double digits) indicated that private sector jobs were unavailable. Updated: September 21, 2022 | Original: July 13, 2017. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. This experience led him to become a social worker. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a program created by then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935 to boost employment and the purchasing power of cash-strapped Americans. They placed special emphasis on the Federal Writers' Project and the Federal Theatre Project. Under Nikolai Sokoloff, the FMP employed 15,000 out-of-work musicians. Transcribed as told to the FWP writers with dialect and slang included, the Narratives generally include just a brief observation by the writer. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. The key measures of the Second New Deal were the Social Security Act, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and the Wagner Act. The WPA artist, in rendering his own impression of things, speaks also for the spirit of his fellow countrymen everywhere. It takes up some of the slack between private jobs and supplies workers, through the U.S. Employment Service, whenever they can be employed in industry or agriculture . Melosh, Barbara. Most former slaves were old and most of their individual stories would not have been preserved if not for the efforts of the WPA writers. Draden, Rena. The WPA arts programs led to the later creation of the National Foundation of the Arts. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1998. In order to pay for the WPA, the U.S. Government had to levy taxes. Flanagan, the director of Vassar College's Experimental Theatre, was recruited by Harry Hopkins to lead the Federal Theatre Project. 12 Apr. The Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Art Project, the Federal Music Project, the Federal Writers' Project and the Historical Records Survey were, variously, praised and criticized, and always controversial. tour guides, consisting of 51 large volumes, of major sites to visit in each state. Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Woodward's father was a U.S. The NYA provided part-time employment to people ages 18 to 25. The best known and most lasting of the works of art created under FAP were the murals painted in public buildings across the nation. Mangione, Jerre. The WPA had had from two to three million on its rolls. America The Story of Us is an epic 12-hour television event that tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented. In the late twentieth century many states implemented programs to require work from welfare recipients. Perhaps best known for its public works projects, the WPA also sponsored projects in the artsthe agency employed tens of thousands of actors, musicians, writers and other artists. In 1926 she became the second woman in history to serve in Mississippi's legislature. In addition to concerts, the FMP made significant strides towards collecting and preserving folk music and other types of authentic, traditional American music. Life among the Texas Indians: The WPA Narratives. From 1936 to 1944 she held the position of Director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration, making her the first black American woman to become a federal agency head. . Victor Arnautoff's "City Life" in San Francisco's Coit Tower is one of the best examples. 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