It is significant that more than a million WPA workers have taken private jobs since the beginning of the program. A significant number had become homeless and hoboes. Many of the FTP productions were similarly criticized. The WPA Guides: Mapping America. The FAP murals represented a renewed interest in American life. ." ." President Roosevelt had a strong belief in the possibilities afforded by appropriate exercise of the powers of the federal government, but without the arrival of the Great Depression his activism would likely have taken a different form. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 1976. (6) Works Progress Administration, Analysis of Civil Works Program Statistics, Washington, DC, 1939, pp. Only forty-two of these refusals, or less than 1 per cent, were found to be real cases of an individual's not wanting to work . The early 1930s were a tumultuous time. As an Shortage of certain types of workers exist despite the millions who walk the streets. Initially denied an education, Bethune became a proponent of the value of education in elevating black Americans. 170174. It employed approximately six thousand writers, librarians, archivists, and teachers annually. Many of the newly established regional orchestras survived the cancellation of the FMP, and a few still existed at the end of the twentieth century. The Federal Writers' Project also undertook a major effort in compiling oral histories. Bethune led the NYA Division of Negro Affairs. It was with this belief in the universal importance of art and music that programs such as the WPA's cultural programs for artists, musicians, writers, and actors would take root. Most workers had no insurance. Even classic plays received a new treatment when produced by the Federal Theatre Project. They built 6,000 athletic fields and playgrounds, 770 new pools, 1,700 new parks, fairgrounds and rodeo grounds, 5,584 new school buildings, repaired 80 million library books, and served 900 million school lunches. Victor Arnautoff's "City Life" in San Francisco's Coit Tower is one of the best examples. The Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration is a practical relief project which also emphasizes the best tradition of the democratic spirit. When Roosevelt became president he recruited Hopkins to implement his various social welfare programs including from 1935 to 1938 the Works Progress Administration. In 1933 they had set up the Public Works Art Project (PWAP), under the administration of the Treasury Department. There is a reserve of millions of unemployed, outside the WPA, to which industry can turn. It presented a true spectacle. In that year increasing charges of mismanagement and of abuse of the program by workers led to a reduction in appropriations, and a strike by construction workers against wage cuts was unsuccessful. Roosevelt and Hopkins disagreed. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The application of the work ethic became important during the, The student work program eventually helped 2.1 million students find jobs in school laboratories, libraries, and playgrounds, at wages ranging from a, South Dakota, President Calvin Coolidge distributed to reporters copies of a simple message: "I do not choose to run for President in nineteen twenty, Public Works Administration (PWA), in U.S. history, New Deal government agency established (1933) by the Congress as the Federal Administration of Pu, Workplace Harassment and the First Amendment, II, Workplace Harassment and the First Amendment, I, Works Progress Administration(WPA) Murals, World AIDS Day: Human Rights Watch Calls for Increased Support, World College: Distance Learning Programs. 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. And some of us have the only chance we will ever again in our life have to do this job for all the people. Many of the discussions about government-sponsored art are still held today, as controversial artists receive government grants, or have government grants repealed. The cultural programs of Federal One were designed to address this gap. In addition many people had a difficult time seeing singing and dancing as a real job. (April 12, 2023). Even among those who were judged unemployable by these boards, one in eight was able to find work in the prosperous period of 1937 , There can, of course, be a scarcity of labor and a surplus at the same time, because workers are not all alike. "Democratizing Culture," in The New Deal: Problems in American Civilization, David E. Hamilton (ed.) I am proud to do this job with you and I want you to be proud to do it with me. A certain arrogance of American ingenuity also gave rise to the WPA. The Works Progress Administration established a number of projects to provide work relief to artists, musicians, writers, and actors. Works Progress Administration 1935-1943 Toward the end of the hearings, Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theatre Project was called to testify. Cultural events and their attendees should be determined by tastes, not by class. New York City: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc., 1994. Federal One made a significant contribution to documenting a history that might otherwise have been lost. Williams was well noted for his never-ending efforts of bringing youth and minorities into the New Deal work relief projects. Bascom, Lionel C. Young people who were out of school could work 70 hours a month for no more than $25 a month. The Historical Records Survey (HRS) was part of the Federal Writers' Project dedicated to cataloging national records. The HRS was extraordinarily prolific, preparing bibliographies of American history and literature, an atlas of congressional roll-call votes, an index to unnumbered executive orders, and a list of the collection of presidential papers. Luther Evans (19021981). Hopkins was a proponent of work relief and the potential of the government to improve people's lives. With winter weather approaching and people needing money for shelter and food, in November 1933 Roosevelt established the Civil Works Administration (CWA) to provide temporary jobs to a few million of the unemployed. 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. Hallie Flanagan (18891969). Everyone could enjoy opera and vaudeville; fiddle playing and contemporary art. 392394). 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. The vast majority still believe in work. On the other side of the political spectrum came criticism from liberals. These challenges were compounded by the fact that the male-dominated WPA administrators could not quite figure out what jobs women could do. The WPA as a federally administered work relief program was a huge undertaking. It was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program. Others were involved in arts education and research. What about those who are not on the WPA or on direct relief? A Renaissance in Harlem: Lost Essays of the WPA, by Ralph Ellison, Dorothy West, and Other Voices of a Generation. Even people who supported the idea of the arts and saw work in the arts as real work raised concerns about government-sponsored art. Research what buildings, art projects, theatre productions or other WPA project impacted your community. The American public is conflicted regarding its public employees. 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. Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal. In 1935 slavery had been illegal for 70 years. Boondoggling entered the American lexicon as a term to describe these and other government projects that critics deemed wasteful or pointless. The Committee charged that the Federal One projects were radicalizing America. The WPA had many supporters, particularly those personally helped by the program. Injunction Granted dramatized the anti-union actions of the courts. The Works Progress Administration (WPA). Track course progress. While this did not happen, the concern about the potential impact of organized youth was not unfounded. Called The Cradle Will Rock, it became caught in the controversy regarding the FTP. The debate over the worthiness of spending public funds on work relief was non-ending. The FTP came under increasing criticism for its reportedly "Communist-influenced" portrayals and was on the verge of being disbanded just as the production was about to premier. There was a sense among many citizens that American minds can fix any problem, including economic problems. A play depicting the struggles of a family in a contemporary New York City tenement could be just as meaningful and just as much art as a play written three hundred years earlier. Bustard, Bruce I. Work relief was heralded as a solution. In New York he gained an education from Columbia University and the New School for Social Research. The architecture of many U.S. buildings constructed as part of Great Depression relief projects is often referred to as PWA Moderne (for Public Works Administration, another New Deal program) or Depression Moderne. The style blended neoclassical and Art Deco elements. To meet this threat, Roosevelt asked Congress to pass additional New Deal legislationsometimes called the "Second New Deal"in 1935. The work was sometimes wonderful, often bad, and occasionally very critical of America, capitalism, and the government. Apparently the people who have borne the burnt of the long depression have kept the desire to work to get back on their feet. Here, to Mount Hood, will come thousands and thousands of visitors in the coming years . 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 relative prosperity allowed many Americans to explore music and plays. President Roosevelt's goal was to provide employment to individuals currently on direct relief. which of the following was a criticism of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)? It was Olive Stanton, the actress who was to sing the opening song. The National Youth Administration (NYA) was established in 1935 within the Works Progress Administration. Nonetheless, unions protested the WPA for its refusal to pay wages as high as those in the private sector. The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America. Seen in this light, critique helps drive intellectual inquiry. She was an important advocate for black American rights and was the highest ranking black American in the Roosevelt Administration. 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. At the same time, it was seen as a way to prevent political opportunists from realizing more radical responses to the Great Depressionmore general relief or even a Communist revolution. The NYA provided part-time employment to people ages 18 to 25. In addition many women had children at home and were not available for full-time employment. In 1939 the Works Progress Administration altered its name to Work Projects Administration. After the surprise attack by Japan on U.S. military installations at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Federal Writers' Project became part of the Writers' Unit of the War Services Division of the WPA. Highway workers are often deplored as wasting time and prolonging projectsnot unlike the criticisms of the WPA workers digging a hole just to fill it. The residential programs were less effective than the student work programs. The Federal Theatre in New York included the Living Newspapers, the Popular Price Theatre, an Experimental Theatre, a Negro Theatre, and a Tryout Theatre. The program provided homes for the youth in dormitory-type housing, education and training opportunities, and employment. The largest contribution of the WPA was work relief in construction and engineering projects. They placed special emphasis on the Federal Writers' Project and the Federal Theatre Project. The Slave Narratives include the transcripts of interviews with almost 2,300 Americans who were once slaves. Instead of providing money to sustain someone without a job, work relief programs provided a job, allowing the participant to earn money. Having the strong support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Woodward established jobs programs for women in every state of the nation. The WPA also sponsored the National Youth Administration, which sought part-time jobs for young people. This experience led him to become a social worker. Bindas, Kenneth J. America The Story of Us is an epic 12-hour television event that tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented. 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. The Dream and the Deal: The Federal Writers Project, 19351943. Woodward left the WPA in December 1938 when President Roosevelt appointed her on the Social Security Board. However, the Works Progress Administration's was highly criticized for its creation of artistic and infrastructure jobs because people felt the program gave too much power to the . Through the board she directed economic development in the state. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1998. Encyclopedia.com. Businesses including banks closed. Apparently the American people are tougher than anyone had a right to hope What sort of people are "on" the WPA? 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. FERA provided direct financial aid to the unemployed. Works Progress Administration. Republicans and conservative Democrats were challenging New Deal programs and Roosevelt himself. All Rights Reserved. Many women on relief did not have a work history and were not, therefore, considered part of the labor force. The Woodrum Committee ended up stripping $125 million from the WPA budget. When business is recovering, cases of local scarcity of certain kinds of labor are bound to occur from time to time. The administrators of the WPA were responsible for the inappropriate allocations. This alone was very controversial. The program collected interviews, articles and notes on Black American life in the South, including oral histories from people who were formerly enslaved. How did debate over certain controversial art projects funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in the late twentieth century compare to debate of the WPA arts programs? The Social Security Act for the first time established an economic . Would all the art be propaganda? Updated: September 21, 2022 | Original: July 13, 2017. (pp. TAG Archives: WPA Women: The Living New Deal. Between 10 and 12 percent of those who participated in the NYA were black Americans, amounting to about 300,000 black men and women. Holger Cahill, a former director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, was the national director of the Federal Arts Project throughout its duration. Despite his reluctance to continue direct relief, shortly after founding the CCC, Roosevelt established the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Increasingly many saw the enjoyment of art and music as a fundamental requirement of a civilized society. They built more than 4,000 new school buildings, erected 130 new hospitals, laid roughly 9,000 miles of storm drains and sewer lines, built 29,000 new bridges, constructed 150 new airfields, paved or repaired 280,000 miles of roads and planted 24 million trees to alleviate loss of topsoil during the Dust Bowl. And it was called the Works Progress Administration (renamed the Work Project Administration (WPA) in 1939). It became the most controversial of all the WPA programs. 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. Flanagan asserted that for theatre to be good, it had to push accepted standards. Despite contrary evidence, public workers were often criticized for being overpaid and lazy. That success was largely due to Mary McLeod Bethune. Only three months earlier an historical demonstration took place as the poor marched on Washington, DC, in the National Hunger March. A children's play about beavers fighting the human destroyer of their dam was considered to support workers rising up against business owners. Minneapolis, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1995. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! FDR's Second New Deal also. Harry Hopkins, who had headed the state organization under Roosevelt, now headed FERA. Perceptions about public workers that were predominately forged in the work relief programs of the 1930s remain today. Like the others the WPA was created to provide work relief for the unemployed. The most striking thing about them is how very American they are , He represents the millions whose lives have been upset by the long depression but who are neither too sick nor too old to scramble for a toe-hold. Their writing from the FWP is still available and provides insightful portraits of life in the 1930s. The Works Progress Administration helped many Americans to develop and cement their views about work relief. 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. I tell you, I have to pinch myself sometimes when I think how some of us have been catapulted into these positions and I will tell you now of the faith and confidence that I have in you, the devotion which you have given to this thing for the past two years and I know I do not have to appeal to this crowd for support. Black and white men could work on outdoor projects together. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the WPA with an executive order on May 6, 1935. The . Previous New Deal work relief programs had been left largely to the states to administer. The WPA also had a requirement that only one member of a family could be employed, which inadvertently discriminated against women. In April 1939 the Dies Committee ordered the investigation of all Federal One projects and placed Representative Clifton Woodrum in charge of the committee. All sorts, of course. This small group of men and women became known as the "Black Cabinet.". Each industry itself likewise should bear a part of the premium for this insurance, and the State, in the interest of its own citizens, and to prevent a recurrence of the widespread hardship of these days, should at least supervise its operation. Mary McLeod Bethune (18751955). First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt lobbied FDR to sign the executive order establishing Federal One. . The smallest of the WPA projects, the HRS was directed by Luther Evans and supervised by noted bibliographer Douglas McMurtrie. The WPA put women to work in clerical jobs, gardening, canning and as librarians and seamstresses. In the trauma of the Great Depression, demonstrations and rebellions were increasingly common. Created Equal addressed the conflicts between property owners and citizens. During the 1920s and 1930s, many Americans and, in fact, people all over the world had begun to advocate for more accessible culture. Are they unemployables? These programs employed artists, musicians, actors and writers. The youth would clean, cook, and study and work. This was done even though astronomical unemployment percentages (well into the double digits) indicated that private sector jobs were unavailable. Furthermore, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) sponsored projects in the arts by employing thousands of writers, musicians, actors, and other skilled artists. Roosevelt's belief that direct relief was demoralizing was not without supporters. Dangerous Theatre: The Federal Theatre Project as a Forum For New Plays. The guidebooks and the oral histories remained as their New Deal legacy. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1996. 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. During its eight-year existence, the WPA put some 8.5 million people to work (over 11 million were unemployed in 1934) at a cost to the federal government of approximately $11 billion. At its height in late 1938, more than 3.3 million Americans worked for the WPA. Much of the art, especially the many murals from the Federal Art Project, are still adorning public buildings around the United States. The Great Depression: America in the 1930s. . The WPA supervised the activities of the National Youth Administration (NYA). 2023 . At the same time, working conditions for many Americans were increasingly hazardous. New York City: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1999. 5. To blame the WPA for a shortage of labor is to charge that the tail is wagging the dog. Not only the tangible projectsthe murals, the transcripts from history, the plays, and the buildingsremain, but also the ideas about the role of government in the lives of its citizens. Roosevelt intended Federal One (as it was known) to put artists back to work while entertaining and inspiring the larger population by creating a hopeful view of life amidst the economic turmoil. New York City: Cambridge University Press, 1994. In 1936 Woodward became WPA director for writers, musicians, artists, and actors. The WPA provided work relief for millions of people during a challenging time in American history of the Great Depression. Mitchell believed that the low wages of the WPA represented a surrender of the U.S. Government to big business. On the face of it and considering what has happened to some millions of helpless people, one would expect that the losses of morale would be stupendous. A significant aspect of the Works Progress Administration was the Federal Project Number One, which had five different parts: the Federal Art Project, the Federal Music Project, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Writers' Project, and the Historical Records Survey. American stage. PWAP was not designed strictly as a work relief project. Ellen Woodward, who headed the Women's Division of the FERA and the CWA and later the Women's Division of the WPA, proposed 250 job categories appropriate for women. Some politicians criticized the WPA for its inefficiencies. Living Newspapers provided a strong example of the controversy found in the expression of ideas in theatrethose very ideas that ultimately led to the demise of the FTP. It was one of a group of New Deal arts programs known collectively as . When President Franklin Roosevelt took office in January 1933, 15 million Americans were unemployed. In dong so the WPA quickly came under attack from conservatives in Congress. Throughout its brief history, the WPA wrestled with how to make the jobs sufficiently attractive to boost the morale of the unemployed workers, without making them so attractive that the workers would prefer them to private employment. Roosevelt and Hopkins supported the WPA and believed that work relief is what a society that aspires to be the best provides for its citizens during a time of great distress. They constructed or repaired 110,000 public libraries, schools, auditoriums, stadiums, and other public buildings. The Great Depression had been steadily worsening for over three years by Roosevelt's inauguration. In 1938 Representatives Martin Dies and J. Parnell Thomas began hearings on the projects of Federal One. Some feared that the WPA, Civilian Conservation Corps, and National Youth Administration could lead to militarized youth as in Germany. Hiller, Megan (Ed.). It gave voice to the variety of views at the time. Workers were often assigned to jobs without considering their skills or their abilities. Even many among the more financially well off believed that both morality and practicality required a more equal approach to wealth and the benefits it accorded. It seemed that there was nothing Americans could not do. They built almost 600,000 miles in new roads and repaired 32,000 miles of existing roads. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Hood east of Portland, Oregon. The WPA - which in 1939 was renamed the Work Projects Administration - employed mostly unskilled men to carry out public works infrastructure projects. people whom you have known all your life, fine hardworking, upstanding men and women who have gone overboard and been caught up in this. They are carpenters, bricklayers, artisans, architects, engineers, clerks, stenographers, doctors, dentists, farmers, ministers.". Many post offices and other public buildings became canvases for WPA murals. Many people were horrified that the majority of Americans had never heard a symphony or seen a "good" piece of art. WPA arts programs drew frequent criticism from Congress and the lay public. Roosevelt had wrestled with poverty and joblessness as governor of New York, implementing a number of innovative programs that would become models for future federal programs. New York City: Peter Lang Publishing, 1989. Cultural events should not be artificially divided between "high" culture for the wealthy and sophisticated and "low" culture for the masses. A civilized society provided for its people. It was this aspect of the work relief programs that provided fodder for critics and ultimately led to the program's demise. In that year increasing charges of mismanagement and of abuse of the program by workers led to a reduction in appropriations, and a strike by construction workers against wage cuts was unsuccessful. Having attracted the attention of Harry Hopkins in 1933 she was appointed to the Women's Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). In this goal of "democratizing culture," Federal One largely succeededat least for a time. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, Inc., 1999. There he sought to develop programs for poverty in the state. Millions more were left to the care, and often neglect, of state and local organizations. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. In 1935 he was appointed National Director of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the WPA. Many of these buildings, roads, and parks were still in use at the beginning of the twenty-first century. A criticism of the works progress administration's creation and infrastructure jobs was that the program gave too much power to the government. Which of the following was a criticism of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)? Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1997. Harry Hopkins (18901946). Businesses and banks had closed, production and sales of goods and services had been severely reduced. They wanted everyone to be able to enjoy a good Shakespeare play or to see a Rembrandt. Many worked long hours in terrible surroundings, where poor equipment, increased production requirements, and poor safety measures meant frequent injury and death. While the FTP had regional groups and tour groups that played widely, the center for theater was New York, and it was in New York that the FTP was most innovative. The FAP sought to make art more accessible. As a result most of the WPA women ended up in one of nine thousand sewing centers around the country. States as a monument to the skill and faithful performance of workers on the rolls of the Works Progress Administration. Federal Theatre Project. 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