WPA Programs by the New Deal during the 1930s
Works Progress Adminstration (WPA), created by President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1935, set up jobs for public works projects, such as the roadwork that Clabe Wilson was hired for in Dallas County, Iowa, and the remodeling of a building that became the Dexter Public Library and a community room.
It also sponsored projects in the arts, helping those already skilled in writing, acting, music, and drama.
Farm Security Administration
The FSA was begun in 1935 to help tenant farmers and sharecroppers. They wanted to document their efforts, which resulted in a most compelling collection of Depression Era photographs. They are available through the Library of Congress.
John M. Zielinski has documented some of the Iowa photos in his Unknown Iowa: Farm Security Administration Photos 1936-1941. I’m especially drawn to the ones of the children and families, and ones taken indoors before flash cameras were readily available.
“SMITHLAND VICINITY “December 1936. The children of Earl Pauley in their home on submarginal farmland. Russell Lee.” Russell Lee was a photographer for Farm Security. From “Unknown Iowa: Farm Security Photos 1936-1941” by John M. Zielinski. I had to look up Smithland, Iowa. It’s in Woodbury County, near Sioux City.
Photo on the cover: GRUNDY COUNTY October, 1939. A hired hand on the Fred Ukro farm with corn used in a test for the yield. Arthur RothsteinArthur Rothstein will be featured in Wednesday’s blog post.
