No bellwork today, but be ready to review! The New Deal No bellwork today, but be ready to review!

Federal Emergency Relief Administration New Deal Relief 1933-1935

Background & Passage When the stock market crashed, Hoover initially thought that “the key to recovery was confidence” As the situation worsened, civilians demanded President Hoover grant aide for relief In 1932, Hoover established the Emergency Relief Administration Gave aide to state and local governments for relief programs Coincided with Hoover’s beliefs of Laissez-faire and lack of direct government aide to individuals When FDR was elected in 1932, he renamed the program and expanded the funding ($500 million/year)

Description Became the first relief operation under the New Deal The goal of FERA was to alleviate unemployment by creating new unskilled jobs in local and state government It also aimed to distribute funding on a more local level

FERA camp for unemployed secretaries in Pennsylvania Projects FERA operated a wide variety of work relief projects, including construction, projects for professionals (e.g., writers, artists, actors, and musicians), and production of consumer goods. Production of consumer goods was useful…….. canned food, garments, mattresses, bedding, and other goods were produced and then distributed to relief recipients FERA camp for unemployed secretaries in Pennsylvania

Community House built by FERA workers in Mississippi (1934)

Success and Outcome By 1935, FERA gave states a total of $3.1 billion. FERA provided work for over 20 million people and developed facilities on public lands across the country. Increased involvement of women and minorities in the work force Faced with continued unemployment, FERA was broken up into two separate agencies in 1935: Works Progress Administration (WPA) Social Security Administration (SSA)

Native American women (Cheyenne) pose with a stack of mattresses they made under a FERA program

Controversy FERA came under fire from capitalists for competing with the private sector. As a result, production-for-use projects that capitalists found offensive were terminated by late 1935 Government production of consumer goods was never used again

Work Cited….. Yes, even teachers cite their sources  Bremer William W. "Along the American Way: The New Deal's Work Relief Programs for the Unemployed." Journal of American History. Dec. 1975, 636-652. Singleton, Jeff. The American Dole: Unemployment Relief and the Welfare State in the Great Depression. Cambridge; NY. Print. 2000