Work Projects Administration collection

Collection

Identifier: 015.WPA

Staff Only

Abstract

The Work Projects Administration collection documents the projects completed by the WPA at Eastern Michigan University, then Michigan State Normal College. The collection includes correspondence, news letters, equipment rentals, memos and bulletins, outline of the program, project information, schedule of wages, and statsitical survey and research information. The collection is arranged alphabetically. Records date from 1935-1941.

Dates

Creation: 1935 - 1941

Conditions Governing Access

Researchers are asked to request materials 24 hours prior to visiting the the University Archives.

Historical note

Work Projects Administration (WPA), former U.S. government agency, was established in 1935 by executive order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939. Created when unemployment was widespread, was designed to increase the purchasing power of persons on relief by employing them on useful projects. These projects included building construction, bridge construction and road improvement. Altogether WPA employed a total of 8.5 million persons, and total federal appropriations for the program amounted to almost $11 billion. Steadily increasing employment in the private sector, much speeded just before and during World War II, caused further drastic cuts in WPA appropriations and payrolls. In June, 1943, the agency officially went out of existence.