The Great Depression that followed the stock market crash of 1929 saw hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work. In the years of great fear and depression, a lot of American citizens looked desperately to the federal government for assistance. Of all the programs designed by President Roosevelt when he took office in 1932, few were more criticized - or had more lasting impact - than the Work Projects Administration, better known as the WPA.
The intention of the WPA, which functioned from 1935 to 1943, was to design and administer public works projects to help relieve unemployment. The majority of these projects involved historic or artistic attempts. The WPA's Writers Project, for example, was responsible not only for such practical works as state guidebooks but also for the collection of historically valuable oral histories. Over 2,900 of these records were collected in 24 states. They provide an irreplaceable firsthand account of people's diets, customs, celebrations, and political and religious beliefs at the time.
The artworks created through the Federal Arts Project are one of the WPA's most lasting achievements. Out - of - work painters, both famous and unknown, created paintings that beautified schools, libraries, and government buildings, WPA photographers traveled across the country recording the hardships of life on small rural farms. When the United States entered World War Ⅱ in 1941, WPA artists were enlisted to produce posters supporting the war effort. Many WPA artworks, including hundreds of small drawings picturing scenes of everyday life, still exist today.
