Today In History: WPA Is Established

No one wishes more sincerely than I do that the program for assisting unemployed workers shall be completely free from political manipulation. However, anyone who proposes that this result can be achieved by turning the administration of a work program over to local boards is either insincere or is ignorant of the realities of local American politics.

-- President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Message to Congress on the Works Progress Administration. January 05, 1939. The America Presidency Project.

Part of the Emergency Relief Act, the Works Progress Administration  (also known as the Works Projects Administration) was passed by Congress on April 8th, 1935 under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal to provide employment to over eight a half million Americans during the Great Depression. The WPA was a massive undertaking that aimed to strengthen public infrastructure --  new roads, bridges, airfields, parks, schools, hospitals, and other buildings -- and provide significant support writers, artists, musicians, and actors. Led by Harry Hopkins, an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor, the WPA included a Library Services Program complete with bookmobiles (traveling libraries), bookbinding, and repair services -- and the program lasted until 1943, amidst heavy criticism of its operations and mounting pressures for the country to invest in war production. 

Despite controversy over its mismanagement and political leanings, the WPA left a legacy of accomplishments that included over 2,500 murals on public buildings; The American Guide Series (51 books and pamphlets covering the 48 states, Washington, D.C. , and territories of Alaska and Puerto Rico); Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives (containing thousands of interviews); and major infrastructure projects, such as LaGuardia Airport, the Lincoln Tunnel, Triborough Bridge, FDR Drive, San Francisco Mint, Santa Ana City Hall, and much more. 

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• New Deal Easy Money Row Put Up to President: Ickes, Hopkins Go to Hyde Park.  (1935, Sep 11). Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963) 
• Bruner, F. (1935, Nov 13). G.O.P. Charges Boon-Doggling Wastes Millions: National Group Holds Hundreds of Relief Jobs Fantastic. Roosevelt Scored on Works Program. Attack Is Made as WPA Tells of 2,900 Writers Being Hired. The Washington Post (1923-1954) 
• Cost of Relief for Half Year Is Held Likely to Top Billion: Roosevelt to Shift Funds to WPA Before July 1 to Aid Jobless. (1936, Feb 08). The Washington Post (1923-1954) 
• W.P.A. Expenses $164,991,734 for Work Here Since August: $124,589,705 Put into Pay Rolls Which Rise Steadily While Other Costs Drop; Employment at Peak in January with 230,000 Jobs. (1936, Apr 16). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Canham, E.D. (1936, Jun 27). The New Deal Diary--A Factual Review of the Roosevelt Administration: Record of Recovery and Reform Weighed. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 
• Abbott, R. S. (1936, Sep 26). Roosevelt's Job Program Reveals Horror Stories When Facts Are Exposed: U. S. Projects Show How Race Fares in Relief Work. The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967) 
• Catledge, T. (1936, Nov 21). Relief Cuts Asked by Business Chiefs as Jobs Increase: Report to Commerce Chamber Figures, 4,000,000 Available for Industry Hire.  New York Times (1923-) 
• Use WPA Funds for Gold Mining in North Carolina: New Deal Appropriates $200,000 for Project.  (1939, Apr 23). Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963)
• DeVore, R. (1942, Dec 05). Roosevelt Abolishes WPA; No Longer Necessary, He Says. The Washington Post (1923-1954) 
• Ripley, J. (1966, Sep 23). U.S. Interest Surges in WPA Art: Appeal Sounded. The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 
• Girona, J.P.  (1997, Mar 28). Happy Days Are Here Again for 'Lost' Mural: Restoration Reviving Lane's WPA Painting. Chicago Tribune (1997-) 

Tips:

• An Annotated Bibliography of Published, Mimeographed, and Typed Reports on WPA Educational Research Projects Sponsored by the Board of Education of the City of New York and Teachers College, Columbia University / Compiled by Teachers College, Columbia University. New York (State), 1940. e-book.
• Boyens, Charles William. The WPA Mural Projects : The Effects of Constraints on Artistic Freedom. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1984.  Ed.D.  Closed Stacks Dissertations ; ND2605 .B69 1984 / Online.
• Cahill, Holger, et al. New Horizons in American Art. The Museum of Modern Art, 1936. TCANA ; N5020.N44 N422 1936.
• Couch, William T. These Are Our Lives. The University of North Carolina Press, 1939. Closed Stacks Research ; F210 .F45.
• Hanna, Paul R, et al. Youth Serves the Community. D. Appleton-Century, 1937. Closed Stacks Research ; HN19 .H28.
• United States. Work Projects Administration. Conferences for the Education of Teachers. [publisher not identified], 1938.  Closed Stacks Research ; LB1715 .U59 1938.
• United States. Work Projects Administration. Education Program of the Works Progress Administration in Cooperation with State Departments of Education. [publisher not identified], 1938. Closed Stacks Research ; LB2805.A1 C6 1938.

Images:

• Highsmith, Carol M, photographer. Mural "The Security of the People" by Seymour Fogel located in the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, Washington, D.C. October. Photograph.  Library of Congress Digital Collections.
• Poster Image:  WPA Work Pays America Poster, circa 1936-1939, Wikimedia Commons.
• Plaque of  a Works Progress Administration Project 1937. Sign on the City Hall in Stewartville, Minnesota. Wikimedia Commons.

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