By Kelsey, Nabby, Fergus and Devin The WPA By Kelsey, Nabby, Fergus and Devin

What is the WPA? Largest New Deal agency, employing millons to carry out public works, fed children and redistributed food, clothing and housing Funded by congress with the passage of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935

The PWA (Public Works Administration) (JUST KIDDING!)

Overview of the PWA Designed to provide unemployed workers with wages as well as to stimulate the building industry, the PWA's main focus was on large-scale construction projects. From 1933 to 1939, the PWA spent six billion dollars in constructing 70 percent of all educational buildings built in the country; 65 percent of all the courthouses, city halls, and other nonresidential public buildings; 65 percent of all the sewage treatment plants; 35 percent of the hospitals and public-health facilities; and 10 percent of the roads, streets, and bridges.

What is the PWA? Francis Perkins suggested the program, and Harold Ickes, the secretary of state at that time, supported the idea. Ickes then headed the idea and it was created Created on June 16, 1933 by the National Industrial Recovery Act Its goal was to create public works, provide employment, stabilize purchasing power, help public welfares, and revive the American industry Had a budget of billions of dollars, and ended up using $6 billion

Success of the PWA Made jobs Helped the economy because there were important projects such as dams Made transportation easier because of road projects Fixed power and distribution problems

Success of the PWA cont’d Housing for people who are poor Hired unemployed people more directly than the WPA Funded 34,000 projects, creating airports, electricity generating dams (Bonneville), aircraft carriers, schools, hospitals, houses, bridges

PWA Vs. WPA Both part of the New Deal Public Works Administration projects were much larger in scope Works Progress Administration (Harry Hopkins) was more controversial WPA hired only people on relief who were paid directly by the government PWA gave contracts to private firms who did the hiring

Criticism Competition over the size of expenditure, the selection of the administrator, and the appointment of staff, let to the delays and failure of PWA as effective recovery too Arguments between both Democratic state organizations and Democrats and Republicans led to delays in implementing PWA efforts on a local level Harold Ickes instituted quotas for hiring skilled and unskilled blacks in construction, there was a lot of resistance from employers and unions

Failures Lacked quality, affordable housing, building only 25,000 units in four and a half years PWA spent over $6 billion, but did not succeed in returning the level of industrial activity to pre-depression levels It did not significantly reduce the unemployment level or create small businesses End of PWA: When FDR moved industry toward war production PWA became irrelevant and was abolished in June 1941

How it was different President Hoover feared that too much intervention by the government would destroy individuality and self-reliance (of starting projects, businesses) which he considered to be important American values Hoover organized a number of voluntary measures w/ businesses and accelerated federal building projects but, his policies had little or no effect Toward the end of his term, Hoover supported several legislative solutions which he felt might lift the country out of the depression

How it was different cont’d In the hope of promoting and stabilizing employment and purchasing power, FDR brought about the creation of the National Industrial Recovery Act Administered the construction of various public works such as: public buildings, bridges, dams, etc. Title II established the PWA and it outlined projects and funding opportunities that could happen under the PWA

Bibliography http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/pwa.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Industrial_Recovery_Act http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0840443.html