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84-534: Founded in 1996, WaterTower Theatre (WTT) is one of Texas' leading professional theatre companies and a flagship arts institution in North Texas, having played an important role as a leader in developing new talent, new work, and encouraging the growth of the Dallas/Fort Worth artistic community through its commitment to hiring local artists. WTT traces its origins back to Addison Community Theater of

168-838: A Division of Negro Affairs headed by Mary McLeod Bethune , who worked at the agency from 1936 to 1943. Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of 1939 , the NYA was transferred from the WPA to the Federal Security Agency . In 1942, the NYA was transferred to the War Manpower Commission (WMC). The NYA was discontinued in 1943. By 1938, college youth were paid from $ 30 to $ 40 a month for "work study" projects at their schools. Another 155,000 boys and girls from relief families were paid $ 10 to $ 25

252-560: 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,

336-424: 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 , and the individual's skill . It varied from $ 19 per month to $ 94 per month, with the average wage being about $ 52.50—$ 1,136 in present-day terms. The goal

420-488: A month for part-time work that included job training. Unlike the Civilian Conservation Corps , it included young women. The youth normally lived at home, and worked on construction or repair projects. Its annual budget was approximately $ 580 million. The NYA was headed by Aubrey Willis Williams , a prominent liberal from Alabama who was close to Harry Hopkins and Eleanor Roosevelt . The head of

504-505: A profound impact on library life in America. The WPA spent $ 4.47 million on removal and internment between March and November 1942, slightly more than the $ 4.43 million spent by the Army for that purpose during that period. Jason Scott Smith observes that "the eagerness of many WPA administrators to place their organization in the forefront of this wartime enterprise is striking.” The WPA

588-491: 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

672-629: Is a great hunger and eagerness for music." 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 , 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

756-1069: Is reflected in its history of world premieres including Song of Motherhood (1998), Blind Lemon Jefferson : Prince of Country Blues (2001), A Country Life (2005), Creep (2015), The Spark (2015), The Great Distance Home (2017), and Bread by Regina Taylor (2018), as well as its Out of the Loop Festival (2002-2016), and DETOUR: a Festival of New Work (beginning in 2018). WTT includes among its alumni many actors whose careers include Broadway, national tours, film, and television credits, including Sandy Duncan ( Peter Pan ); Major Attaway (Broadway: Aladdin ); Brian Gonzales (Broadway: One Man, Two Guvnors ; Aladdin ); Liz Mikel (Broadway: Lysistrata Jones ; TV: Friday Night Lights ; Sordid Lives ); Cedric Neal (Broadway: Gershwin's Porgy & Bess ; After Midnight ); Stacey Oristano (TV: Friday Night Lights ; Bunheads ; Shameless ); and Akron Watson (Broadway: The Color Purple ; The Play that Goes Wrong ). The Theatre's venue,

840-546: 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. WPA projects were administered by the Division of Engineering and Construction and

924-591: The Civilian Conservation Corps , provided work for nearly 5 million youth during the Great Depression and World War II years. These figures included more than one million young women. By the end of June 1938, the National Youth Administration had constructed 125 schools and libraries, as well as improved and made repairs on an additional 4,459. NYA constructed 59 gymnasiums and dormitories, repairing another 233. Youth contributed to

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1008-722: The National Youth Administration . 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." The League of the Physically Handicapped in New York was organized in May 1935 to end discrimination by

1092-518: The National Youth Administration . 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 suffered long-term unemployment. In one of its most famous projects, Federal Project Number One ,

1176-554: The National Youth Administration . 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

1260-645: The Texas division at one point was Lyndon B. Johnson , who was later to become president of the United States . The NYA operated several programs for out-of-school youth. As the Great Depression continued to grip the American economy and inhibit the harnessing of American potential, unemployment and poverty spiraled to record highs. These debilitating years saw youth unemployment rise to 30% and

1344-721: The 1970s which began performing at the Old Stone Cottage, a 1930s WPA project which still stands adjacent to WTT's current home at the Addison Theatre Centre. Addison Theatre Centre, completed in 1992, is a 32,000-square-foot space, including a Main Stage – a flexible black box space with seating for approximately 200 – and a smaller Studio Theatre. WTT is the resident theatre company of the Addison Theatre Centre, which also houses WTT's administrative, artistic, and production offices. WTT's commitment to new work

1428-531: The Addison Theatre Centre, is a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m) custom-designed space, including the Main Stage (seating approximately 240) and the Studio Theatre (seating approximately 100). The Addison Theatre Centre was profiled in the “American Stages” series produced by National Public Radio ’s All Things Considered , in a segment on “Theater Shape and Design.” Productions are also staged in

1512-465: The American youth various opportunities including education, jobs, recreation, and counseling for male and female youth between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. In June 1935, to combat the economic forces that entangled youth and their families, the National Youth Administration was launched by Executive Order 7086. Much like the Federal Writers' Project , created just over a month later,

1596-712: 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 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

1680-499: 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

1764-665: The Labor-Federal Security Appropriations Act of 1944 and the Second Deficiency Appropriations Act of 1943. The various impacts which came from the program were immense; with having employed 2,677,000 young men and women in its out-of-school work program and 2,134,000 in its student work program. Overall, the NYA helped over 4.5 million American youths find jobs, receive vocational training, and afford higher standards of education. More significantly, it provided

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1848-415: The NYA was committed to providing training and employment for long-term value and advancement. Young people were provided with work experience and learning-by-doing training in a wide variety of fields, including recreation, public service, education, the arts, research and development, agriculture, and construction. By 1937, more than 400,000 youth were employed or participating in occupational training under

1932-482: The NYA. These vocational programs and occupational placements were put to the ultimate test with the onset of World War II. The 1939 outbreak of war in Europe provided the perfect testing grounds to observe the effectiveness of NYA's training and initiatives in many fields that were related to the war economy . The war effort increased the program's reach and saw a substantial surge in young, trained workers contributing to

2016-560: 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 program that ran its own projects in cooperation with state and local governments, which supplied 10–30% of

2100-826: 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 areas. [1] 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

2184-462: The South, whereas the West was less of a sure thing; swing states 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 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

2268-643: The Stone Cottage (seating approximately 50) adjacent to the Theatre Centre. Works Progress Administration 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 projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It

2352-412: 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

2436-420: 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

2520-581: 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 in 1935. The WPA relented and created 1,500 jobs for physically disabled workers in New York City. About 15% of the household heads on relief were women, and youth programs were operated separately by

2604-785: 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 (HRS), the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Music Project (FMP), and the Federal Art Project (FAP). In the Historical Records Survey, for instance, many former slaves in

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2688-751: 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 $ 236 billion today. Over $ 4 billion

2772-485: 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

2856-496: The WPA. The WPA was largely shaped by Harry Hopkins , supervisor of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration 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 , national director of the Federal Theatre Project , wrote that "for

2940-465: The agency. He was a forerunner in addressing unemployment and access to education among African Americans , creating the Office of Minority Affairs . His goals emphasized increasing their economic well-being through labor opportunities, increased educational attainment, and maximizing potential. More generally, Williams was influential in emphasizing the program's broad reach and positive implications on

3024-656: 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

3108-597: 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

3192-778: The construction of 74 warehouses, courthouses, offices, and administration buildings, along with repairing 352. In addition to buildings, NYA workers also built 5,149 athletic fields, baseball fields, and grandstands, along with the improvement of 12,697 more. In addition, NYA created over two thousand handball and tennis courts and improved an additional two thousand. The NYA also trained youth in various workshop skills. They built or renovated over 481,000 pieces of various furniture, repaired almost 1 million toys, and salvaged or crafted about 26,000 pieces of playground equipment, 177,344 pieces of mechanical equipment, and over 853,000 articles made of concrete, such as concrete blocks for building. Over 9.5 million feet of highways and roads were built by

3276-507: 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 Narratives and collections of folklore. These writers also participated in research and editorial services to other government agencies. This project

3360-635: 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 (RFC) or Federal Emergency Relief Administration 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

3444-685: The country that served an estimated eight million individuals. Directed by Nikolai Sokoloff , former principal conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra , the Federal Music Project 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,

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3528-473: 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 , public facilities became a focus; parks and associated facilities, public buildings, utilities, airports, and transportation projects were funded. The following year saw

3612-467: The decline of progress within the American youth, she urged her husband to allow her to "act as an extension of the presidency by moving in new directions or in areas where it was politically difficult for the President to operate directly." These "difficult areas" in which it was difficult for FDR to operate directly pointed towards the youth in America. Eleanor Roosevelt's efforts and contributions gave

3696-445: The defense industry. On a larger scale, the program enabled American youth to contribute to the war effort, stimulate the American war economy, and effectively turn the United States into an international powerhouse of production. The NYA was also fundamental in bringing considerations for African Americans into the dialogue surrounding aid to workers and maturing youth. This platform was strongly pushed by Aubrey Williams' leadership in

3780-548: The distribution of surplus commodities, and school lunch projects. One construction project was the Merritt Parkway 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

3864-593: The education system, including administration, janitorial work, and cafeteria services. These efforts stemmed from a twofold mission to develop the youth's talent, while simultaneously keeping them from flooding the already-suffering and compromised labor markets. Aubrey Williams , who headed the Administration, felt that the solution to the problem youth faced was to give these teenagers and young adults socially useful and constructive work so that they may become assets rather than liabilities to society. Secondly,

3948-603: The eye, the ear, or the intellect—or all three." This project was directed by Holger Cahill , 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

4032-542: The federal agency was intended to assist young Americans during the tumultuous times, to prevent them from falling victim to current hardships, and to maintain their potential for future achievement and societal contribution. The NYA's first mission embodied the goal to prevent already-enrolled high school and university students from dropping out before earning their degree, out of necessity due to dire financial times. The agency achieved this by providing grants to youth in exchange for part-time work positions in various sectors of

4116-545: The first manager of the Manzanar Relocation Center in California, a facility that, according to one insider, was “manned just about 100% by the WPA.” Drawing on experiences derived from New Deal era road building, he supervised the installation of such features as guard towers and spotlights. Then Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins praised his successor as WPA administrator, Howard O. Hunter , for

4200-448: 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: These ordinary men and women proved to be extraordinary beyond all expectation. They were golden threads woven in the national fabric. In this, they shamed the political philosophy that discounted their value and rewarded

4284-537: The four years it was established, and introduced 100 new playwrights. Many performers later became successful in Hollywood including Orson Welles , John Houseman , Burt Lancaster , Joseph Cotten , Canada Lee , Will Geer , Joseph Losey , Virgil Thomson , Nicholas Ray , E.G. Marshall and Sidney Lumet . The Federal Theatre Project was the first project to end; it was terminated in June 1939 after Congress zeroed out

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4368-573: The funding. This project was directed by Henry Alsberg 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 , 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

4452-622: The future. His public addresses adamantly expressed that the transition youth experienced when adjusting from elementary years to greater independence and work positions was always rough, yet the economic situation of the Depression aggravated the transition and threatened to derail reaching final aspirations of work. Consequentially, it was the NYA's duty to provide access to education, advancement, and sense of occupational achievement through its interactive initiatives and agendas. Williams' emphasis on turning America's youth into productive citizens

4536-527: The groups of male youth, along with almost 4 million feet of road shoulders. Nearly 2 million feet of sidewalks and paths were built by these young men. Young women were just as influential as male youth. They made up about 43 percent of the National Youth Administration's total enrollment. Their accomplishments included serving over 31 million lunches to school children, making over 2.5 million articles for hospital supplies, and producing over 3 million articles of clothing for distribution to needy families. As

4620-496: The home effort of World War II gained momentum, the NYA's crucial role quickly dwindled. The booming munitions and war industry economy was recruiting large numbers of workers, and the agency was no longer vital for ensuring work opportunity and growth among the population. This was specifically true for lesser-skilled workers who previously needed a support network to secure work or the skills needed to get their careers under way. The program officially ended on January 1, 1944, per

4704-508: 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

4788-415: 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. In 1942, the WPA played a key role in both building and staffing internment camps to incarcerate Japanese Americans . At its peak in 1938, it supplied paid jobs for three million unemployed men and women, as well as youth in a separate division,

4872-435: 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

4956-711: 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

5040-420: The means necessary for this "struggling generation" to overcome the economic adversity that threatened to overrun the country. Through the NYA's initiatives, the youth triumphed and maintained their dignity by contributing to society, growing personally, and stimulating advancements in America that eventually proved crucial to pulling the country out of a period of domestic strife. The NYA had positive effects on

5124-601: The nation's African-American families were either on relief or were employed by the WPA. Civil rights 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

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5208-601: 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

5292-708: The one that placed its faith in them, thus fulfilling the founding vision of a government by and for its people. All its people. The goal of the WPA was to employ most of the unemployed people on relief until the economy recovered. Harry Hopkins testified to Congress in January 1935 why he set the number at 3.5 million, using Federal Emergency Relief Administration data. Estimating costs at $ 1,200 per worker per year ($ 26,668 in present-day terms ), he asked for and received $ 4 billion ($ 88.9 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

5376-517: The population were African American. However, by 1941, the perception of discrimination against African Americans had changed to the point that the NAACP 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

5460-512: 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

5544-452: 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,

5628-452: 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, despite being the poorest region of the United States, received 75% 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

5712-560: 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 , 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. The WPA had numerous critics. The strongest attacks were that it

5796-478: 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

5880-409: The younger cohorts of the United States increasingly faced the devastation of not being able to afford education. Serving as the main catalyst for change and accelerator for government intervention, Eleanor Roosevelt advocated government involvement. In 1934 she notably declared that she frequently experienced "moments of real terror when [she thought] we might be losing this generation". Mrs. Roosevelt

5964-673: The “building of those camps for the War Department for the Japanese evacuees on the West Coast.” The share of Federal Emergency Relief Administration 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

6048-524: Was an initiator of the National Youth Administration as well as its adviser, a planner, an investigator, and a publicist. Halfway through the depression, due to the change in tides as a result of World War II , Roosevelt had mixed opinions on the NYA. Roosevelt felt that the United States should send the majority of these workers to serve in the war. This resulted in FDR beginning to lean towards Congress to shut it down. Due to Eleanor Roosevelt's intuition regarding

6132-533: Was further supported by President Franklin Roosevelt's proclamation that the "yield on this investment [the establishment of the NYA] should be high." Providing the youth with the foundation they needed would enable them to contribute to America's future development, the nation's strength, and progress and acceleration forward. The Federal Government, through the combined efforts of the National Youth Administration and

6216-463: Was nearly double the proportion of white Americans on relief (9.5%). This was during the period of Jim Crow and racial segregation in the South, when black Americans were largely disenfranchised . 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

6300-456: Was on the ground helping with removal and relocation even before the creation of the WRA. On March 11, Rex L. Nicholson, the WPA's regional director, took charge of the “Reception and Induction” centers that controlled the first thirteen assembly centers. Nicholson's old WPA associates played key roles in the administration of the camps. WPA veterans involved in internment included Clayton E. Triggs,

6384-549: Was preferred over public assistance (the dole) because it maintained self-respect, reinforced the work ethic, and kept skills sharp." On May 6, 1935, FDR issued executive order 7034, establishing the Works Progress Administration. The WPA superseded the work of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration , which was dissolved. Direct relief assistance was permanently replaced by a national work relief program—a major public works program directed by

6468-506: Was set up on May 6, 1935, by presidential order, as a key part of the Second New Deal . 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 , the WPA supplied paid jobs to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United States , while building up the public infrastructure of the US, such as parks, schools, and roads. Most of

6552-682: Was spent on highway, road, and street projects; more than $ 1 billion on public buildings, including the iconic Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, and Timberline Lodge in Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest . More than $ 1 billion—$ 20.7 billion today —was spent on publicly owned or operated utilities; and another $ 1 billion on welfare projects, including sewing projects for women,

6636-541: 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 . 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

6720-500: Was the Household Service Demonstration Project , which trained 30,000 women for domestic employment. South Carolina 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. A significant aspect of the Works Progress Administration

6804-553: Was the prelude for a national political machine on behalf of Roosevelt. Reformers secured the Hatch Act of 1939 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 of the House Committee on Un-American Activities claimed in 1938 that divisions of the WPA were a "hotbed of Communists" and "one more link in

6888-452: 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 Luther H. Evans. At its peak, this project employed more than 4,400 workers. 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

6972-399: 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

7056-530: Was viewed negatively by employers, who said they had formed poor work habits. 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 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and included

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