In the summer of 1933, the signs were everywhere
in the coal regions, on posters and billboards, and in store windows: “The
President wants you to join the union.” In the 1920s, coal had been a sick
industry, and its health, along with the country’s had depreciated with the
onset of the Great Depression in 1929. Mounting unemployment and plummeting
wages joined the industry’s dangerous working conditions, unreliable rules,
and company domination. Responding to a crippling depression, the federal
government, endorsed by President Roosevelt, adopted “ ..an activist role in
the economy and society” (American Journey 812). Its new reach seemed to
extend everywhere. Federal activism restored hope and confidence for many
Americans, often encouraging them to act for themselves.
The New Deal, as Roosevelt called his plan,
achieved success and attracted support when it was pushed forward to resolve
the crisis of a collapsing financial system, a crippling unemployment rate,
and agricultural and industrial breakdowns that were causing national
anxiety. Within the many programs of the New Deal was a relief agency known
as the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA was set up to assist the
unemployed and boost the economy. Before its end in 1943, the WPA gave jobs
to 9 million people and spent nearly $12 billion. Three fourths of its
expenditures went towards construction projects. The WPA built schools, post
offices, and hospitals, parks, and roads. The WPA not only provided public
accommodations, but also jobs for the unemployed.
The WPA also developed work projects for
unemployed writers, musicians, and actors. “Why not” said FDR (American
Journey 831)? “They are human beings. They have to live” (American Journey
831). In response, the American Guide Series of the Federal Writes’ Project
was established (Stott 105). The Federal Writers Project was a product of one
of the most ambitious research and writing undertakings in American History.
The project put authors to work preparing state guidebooks, writing historical
pamphlets, and recording the points of interest of each state that had decided
to partake in the undertaking (West viii). Arkansas, one of the states that
volunteered to participate, was divided into two tours along 17 highways.
Each tour focused on the largest cities within the state, one of which was
Pine Bluff (West).
When in Pine Bluff, the writers listened to
hundreds of the towns inhabitants talk about the city and their lives. The
writers of the project were interested in what the townspeople viewed as a
main attraction. With the information that was collected, the WPA writers
wrote a book entitled The WPA Tour
Guide to 1930s Arkansas. Within the book was a section entitled
“Points of Interest.” This section consisted of sites that demonstrated
either some type of history or a leading or new business that had developed in
the city. The sites listed under "Points of Interest" were chosen to imply
historical, architectural, industrial, and demographic attributions of the
city.