Wpa Literature Review

Literature Review Paper
(1935) Works Project Administration (WPA) created
Mohammed Alharbi
University Of Central Oklahoma

Abstract
This paper provides literature review regarding the functioning of the Works Project Administration (WPA) that was created in 1935. The WPA helped millions of Americans to find jobs during the period of Great Depression. For example, the WPA developed many significant programs in art, theater, music and writing in order to allow American artists and actors to give concerts, shows and circuses, perform plays, paint murals and produce books. Many projects developed by the WPA were criticized. Critics called the WPA programs “boondoggles”, arguing that most of the projects were aimed at buying
political favor. However, local communities earned much profit from the WPA projects. The paper provides individual reflection of the topic and the discussion of the references used. The WPA successes and failures have been widely discussed in literature because this agency contributed to the development of American society during the period of Great Depression, addressing the needs of working class people, the poor and the unemployed.

Introduction It is known that the creation of the Works Project Administration (WPA) in 1935 was an important event in the lives of many American citizens. This event was associated with the 1936 elections because Roosevelt was focused on the support of the poor and working class people (Boyer et al., 2010). The U.S. President Roosevelt changed the New Deal course, addressing the needs of the working class people through six major initiatives: the expansion of public works programs and policies, providing support to the rural poor people, the promotion of organized labor, providing benefits to the retired, the promotion of business regulation through heavier taxation (Boyer et al., 2010). The WPA has become a new project of the U.S. President. The initial name of this institution was the Works Progress Administration. The institution was renamed in 1939. The Works Project Administration was established based on President Roosevelt’s executive order with the major goal to provide employment to more than “1/3 of the masses left jobless during the Great Depression” (Gyarfas, 2010, p. 660). The WPA activity was eliminating in 1943, when the World War II was launched in European countries and the level of employment was considerable improved in the U.S. due to the growth of the private sector (Boyer, 2010). The WPA successes and failures have been widely discussed in literature because this agency contributed to the development of American society during the period of Great Depression, addressing the needs of working class people, the poor and the unemployed.
Review of Literature The successes and failures of the WPA have been widely discussed in academic literature and the mass media. According to researchers, the Works Project Administration (WPA) helped to employ over 8.5 million Americans on different “socially beneficial projects” (Gyarfas, 2010, p. 660). Over 8 years of the WPA existence, the WPA constructed many physical infrastructures, including bridges, roads, public buildings (schools, post-offices, hospitals, airports) and other significant facilities (Gyarfas, 2010). Besides, the WPA provided assistance to writers, producers, musicians, performers and artists who contributed to the development of art and culture in the U.S. For example, the Federal Writers Project (FWP) was created by the Works Project Administration during the period of the Great Depression of the 1930s. The FWP was an important project of the New Deal policy as it helped to promote art and culture and assist everyone who was involved in art in the U.S. during the 1930s. According to Woodward (1938), the WPA library projects provided library services to millions of Americans, improving cultural development of the nation.
However, many experts believed in the effectiveness and usefulness of the WPA projects.
According to Glenn Altschuler (2008), “an unreconstructed New Dealer, Taylor dismisses or ignores evidence that public works projects did not promote -and may have retarded – recovery” (p. 1). Taylor celebrates the functioning of the WPA for “treating people as a resource and not as a commodity” (Altschuler, 2008, p. 1). Actually, millions of American people were thrown out of work because of the negative effects of economic crisis. The New Deal programs and policies gave many Americans an opportunity to “sweat in honest work as part of our democracy” (Altschuler, 2008, p. 1). According to statistical data, in the 1930s, the WPA helped to build more than “650,000 miles of roads, 78,000 bridges, 800 airports and served 900 million hot lunches to school children” (Altschuler, 2008, p.
1). In general, the WPA was an effective public works project, administered by Presidents Roosevelt and his Administration. The agency was focused on the key principles of Roosevelt’s New Deal course, providing relief to many thousands of unemployed Americans and millions of working class people, as well as considerable financial support into the devastated private U.S. economy (Amenta & Halfmann, 2000).
Reflection of the topic and discussion of the references used in the paper The topic discussed in this paper is an important one for Americans because it reflects American history and helps to find the proper answers to existing questions in the field of social security.
The creation of the WPA in 1935 was a significant event in American history. I believe that the programs developed by the WPA were part of President Roosevelt’s public works strategy. I believe that the WPA was a successful initiative because it contributed to the U.S. development and addressed a wide range of problems caused by the Great Depression. Millions of Americans were involved in various programs developed by the WPA. Although the WPA was criticized by Conservatives and businessmen, the WPA projects were successful and beneficial for many Americans. The WPA projects gave hope to the unemployed and the poor people.
The references used in this literature review paper are reliable and valid. The authors are qualified to write on this topic as they have enough knowledge and experience to discuss important historical and political events. Most of the authors are historians and political experts. They are competent in the discussion of various political issues and historical events, especially those that contributed to the development of American
society.
However, I did not like the criticism of the WPA projects provided by Conservatives and businessmen. I cannot agree with them because their complaints were invalid in some way. They ignored positive aspects of the WPA and did not take into consideration the problems of millions of Americans who lost jobs during the Great Depression period.

References
Altschuler, G. C. (2008). “ 'American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA ' byNick Taylor” Post-Gazette Now, March 9, 2008. Retrieved from:<https://www.sce.cornell.edu/sce/altschuler/pdf/altschuler_review_20080309_97.pdf>
Amenta, E. & Halfmann, D. (2000). “Wage Wars: Institutional Politics, WPA Wages, and the Struggle for U.S. Social Policy,” American Sociological Review, 65 (4): 506-528. Retrieved from: <http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~ea3/Wage%20Wars%20ASR%202000.pdf>
Boyer, P., Clark, C., Halttunen, K., Kett, J. & Salisbury, N. (2010). The Enduring Vision, II: Since 1865. Cengage Learning.
Gyarfas, S. B. (2010). “Works Progress Administration” in Work in America: M-Z. ABC-CLIO.
Woodward, E. S. (1938). “WPA Library Projects,” Wilson Library Bulletin, 4: 518- 520. Retrieved from:<http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/WPA/WB.pdf>

Appendices

Source 1 https://www.sce.cornell.edu/sce/altschuler/pdf/altschuler_review_20080309_97.pdf

Source 2 http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~ea3/Wage%20Wars%20ASR%202000.pdf Source 3
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/WPA/WB.pdf