What The WPA Did

John Henry, a professor at UMKC reviews the history of the WPA:

Originally, the WPA was an extension of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration—the first federally-funded welfare program in the U.S. One rationale for the WPA was that it was better to put people to work performing useful tasks rather than merely receiving assistance: off the dole and on the job.

A maximum work week was set at 30 hours, and pay was set at “the prevailing wage.” This latter standard raised some unintended humorous criticism. Senator Richard Russell of Georgia complained that: “In the State of Tennessee the man who is working with a pick and shovel at 18 cents an hour is limited to $26 a month, and he must work 144 hours to earn $26. Whereas the man who is working in Pennsylvania has to work only 30 hours to earn $94, out of funds which are being paid out of the common Treasury of the United States” (In Couch, 2008).

The WPA was not intended as a “full employment” program. Only one household member could be employed under the program (it was usually males), though one does find female heads of households so employed. It should also be noted that state and local governments were required to contribute 10-30% of the costs of the various projects undertaken. Over its life, total spending on WPA projects amounted to about $13.4 billion, roughly 2% of GDP over those years.

And what were those projects? Was this simply a “make work” program that made little difference in the long run? Or, was the WPA integral to the larger economy and its contributions socially useful? A truncated tally follows. (See below for a slideshow of projects under the WPA)

• 560,000 miles of roads built or improved
• 20,000 miles of water mains, sewers constructed
• 417 dams built
• 325 firehouses built; 2384 renovated
• 5,000 schools constructed or renovated
• 143 new hospitals, 1,700 improved
• 2,000 stadiums, grandstands built
• 500 landing fields; 1,800 runways (including participation in the construction of LaGuardia Airport, NYC)
• State and municipal parks, including the foundation of the extensive California state park system.
• 100 million trees planted
• 6,000 miles of fire and forest trails created
• Education: Through 1941, 1 million enrolled in adult education courses, 37,000 children in classes and nursery schools; 280,000 received music instruction, 67,000 art instruction.
• Libraries were built. These were especially directed toward poor and rural communities.
• Zoo buildings constructed

In addition to the above, one should note the WPA’s contribution to the cultural life of the country. Under the direction of Hallie Flanagan, the Federal Theatre Project mounted 1,200 productions including 300 new plays. Audiences were estimated at 25 million in forty states, many of whom had never before seen a play. As well, WPA programs included Federal Music, Federal Arts, and Federal Writers’ Projects. This latter program produced the most notable “Slave Narrative Collection,” consisting of 10,000 pages of interviews with former slaves, a continuing treasure-trove for researchers. Last, let us not forget the famous murals that were produced by artists hired by the WPA. These dot the country from post offices (though these were mainly funded by the Treasury Department through a grant from the government) to college buildings, to government buildings. Included in this array were those painted by Diego Rivera for the City College of San Francisco, Anton Refregier in the Rincon Annex Post Office, San Francisco, and Thomas Hart Benton in the Missouri State Capitol rotunda.

Again, this is a logical activity when there is significant unemployment.  The fact that it is politically unfeasible today says a lot about the state of politics.  I have been to at least one of the stadiums constructed by the WPA, the former Riverview Stadium, the home of the Clinton LumberKings in Clinton, Iowa.

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