President Roosevelt composed of the New Deal to bring the country out of the Great Depression. The New Deal consisted of many different agencies that fell under the category of either: relief, recovery or reform. The following are some of the agencies that fall under relief. It is shown that some of the agencies were more successful then the others.

     The Civil Works Administration (CWA) employed four million people--paid an average of $15 a week--many in useful construction jobs such as repairing schools, laying sewer pipes, building roads. The CWA money was to be used for labor only, and the local governments were required to pay for materials. Some CWA jobs, however, were criticized as useless (e.g., leaf raking). Roosevelt disbanded the program after less than a year. Published in Popular Photography, February 1960

"I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions."

Dorothea Lange

       The Public Works Administration (PWA) budgeted several billion dollars to be spent on the construction of public works as means of providing employment, stabilizing purchasing power, improving public welfare, and contributing to a revival of American industry. Simply put, it was designed to spend "big bucks on big projects." Its one big failure was in quality, affordable housing, building only 25,000 units in four and a half years.

    The Bank Holiday was inevitable after a month-long run on American banks. The holiday began on March 6, 1933 by shutting down the banking system. When banks reopened on March 13, 1933, depositors stood in line to return their hoarded cash. This paper traces the remarkable turnaround in the public's confidence to the Emergency Banking Act. The public responded by returning more than half of their hoarded cash to the banks within two weeks and by bidding up stock prices on March 15, 1933, the first trading day after the Bank Holiday ended, by the largest ever one-day percentage price increase.

     The Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) was allotted a start-up fund of $500 million from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to help the needy and unemployed. Over the following two years a total of $3 billion was distributed.  Direct aid was given to the states, which funneled funds through such local agencies as home relief bureaus and departments of welfare for poor relief. The funds, intended to keep afloat up those hurt most by the Depression, paid for work completed, cash outlays, food and clothes. FERA provided work for over 20 million people and developed facilities on public lands across the country. Unfortunately, FERA fell short of ending the Great Depression. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was terminated and its work taken over by the WPA and the Social Security Board.

     The Home Owner's Loan Corporation's (HOLC) made and serviced more than a million loans to homeowners during the Depression. They made loans to African Americans, Jews, and immigrants. Evidence suggests, however, that HOLC supported racial segregation in the process of reselling properties acquired through foreclosure. 

     The Work Progress Administration (WPA) lasted until 1943 and employed at least 8.5 million people at an average of $2 a day. They built thousands of roads, bridges, schools, post offices and other public construction projects. In addition, under the WPA's Art Program, thousands of unemployed of writers, musicians, artists, actors, and photographers temporarily went on the federal payroll, producing public projects ranging from murals to national park guidebooks. 

     The Farm Credit Association (FCA) helped the 40% of farms that were mortgaged by providing low-interest loans (2.25% per year) through a Federal Land Bank for 50-year terms. It was a successful organization because there are still some farm credit associations around today.

     The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) provided jobs and relocation for young men (18-25) in rural settings under direction of U.S. Army. CCC workers built public parks, cut fire trails, planted trees, built small dams, helped with flood control, reclaimed ruined land, drained swamps, and helped with conservation. The original CCC was closed in 1942 but it became a model for state agencies that opened in the 1970s. Today, corps is state and local programs that engage primarily youth and young adults (ages 16-25) in full-time community service, training and educational activities. The nation’s 111 corps operates in multiple communities across 41 states and the District of Columbia. In 2004, they enrolled over 23,000 young people. 

Loveless CCC (Real Audio 28.8)