History of the Work Projects Administration

     The Work Projects Administration was created on May 6, 1935.  It was created under the direction of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration.  The WPA  is an agency that was created to try and get control over the Depression that was going on.  Previous attempts at getting the Depression under control had failed with the creation of several agencies such as  the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the Public Works Administration (PWA), and the Civil Works Administration (CWA).  After all of these failed to bring some control the WPA was established.  The purpose of this new agency was to provide jobs for those people who were unemployed and not able to find a job.  The WPA was not for giving jobs to handicap, disabled, old, or otherwise unemployable people.  It was rather an agency that was created to give jobs to those who could not find a job.  The WPA was often called the nickname of "make-work" program.  This nickname came from the agencies power to create certain jobs.  If people were in need of a job and could not find one elsewhere, then the WPA would create one for them.  The WPA began by mostly having jobs open in the construction business.  This was not a happy thing for those people who had been teachers, artists, musicians, or performers.  That group of people often had heads turned the other way on them and jobs were not easy to find in their field of specialty.  However, in 1933 there was a grant that was given to the Public Works of Art Project by the CWA.  This grant gave way for 3600 artists to use their artistic ability and make murals and sculptures for public buildings.  This art project was ended in 1934 when the CWA was terminated.  Now, that same group of people were back to not having any jobs.  Luckily, the CWA had set the stage for the WPA's art, music, theater, and writers' projects.

   The art, music, theater, and writer projects each became their own individual projects.  These projects became the Federal Art Project (FAP), Federal Music Project (FMP), Federal Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), and the Historical Records Survey (HRS).  Each of these groups began to employee people who could create the works of art specific to that group.  The groups also began to employee people who could teach other people in their area of expertise.

    The Federal Writers' Project was brought to be under the direction of Henry A Alsberg.  The main purpose for the FWP was to create a tour guide for each of the 48 states along with one for the territories of Alaska and Peurto Rico.  The reason for such an urge on creating this tour guide came from the expansion of automobile travel in this time period.  Another reason the Alsberg thought it would be a good idea was because the last tour guide that was create of the United States was from 1914.  Under the direction of Alsberg, directors were appointed for each state.  These State Directors headed their own states tour guide.  They sent people to every inch of land in their state to collect information.  These workers would interview people, observe what they saw, and then compile a written tour about it.  Each article that was written had to go through Washington before being published and each other had to remain anonymous.  In 1939 John D Newsome became the new National Director, and after Pearl Harbour it became known as the Writers’ Unit of the War Services Division of WPA.