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... om the depression. The Works Progress Administration was then formed out of the CWA. It also was the most successful of all the New Deal programs, as it pulled over $ 10 billion into the economy within only three years, (1935 - 1938). There was a heavy emphasis on spending money on wages rather than machinery or materials- the use of human labor was valued. Roosevelt favored this program because it had an emphasis on creating jobs as a way of maintaining morale by de-emphasizing welfare-like payments.
President Roosevelt declared to Congress that they must preserve not only the actual bodies of the unemployed from destruction, but also their self-respect, self-alliance, courage and determination. This is what would bring the economy out of the inferno of depression. The WPA was an active program that, like the CWA, supplied people with jobs. Three-fourths of all the WPA projects involved construction. Many public buildings were built such as museums, hospitals, and zoos- all of which did the public good. Workers improved 572, 000 miles of rural roads, built 40, 000 new public buildings, repaired 85, 000 existing buildings, and built 78, 000 new bridges and 24, 000 miles of sidewalks.
Indeed, the WPA improved society as a whole. All the projects promoted involvement in the community and gave the citizens money. Other WPA projects included: stuffing mattresses, canning peaches, surveying property boundaries, sealing mines, and creating books in Braille. All of these efforts benefited the entire nation. Safety was now a growing concept and the WPA served everyone as to promote safety. The WPA provided a work ethic- workers not just getting handed money, but actually working to be paid and, at the same time, America was drastically improved.
The WPA had produced many positive results. The Grand Coulee Dam, a WPA project, was created through the efforts of the workers during the depression. Its construction, often called the "eighth wonder of the world", provided a tremendous boost to the regional economy during the depression years. The dam provided power for irrigation and it brought thousands of jobs and billions of federal dollars to the region. It served as an emblem of the New Deals impact on the region as a whole. The WPA put up money to support a vast variety of public projects such as post-offices, libraries, schools, airports, and highways.
All of these are still in use today, demonstrating that the WPA had a powerful and lasting impact on the nation. The WPA also encouraged tourism. It allowed for workers to create and improve large scale building projects such as dining lodges in Missouri state parks. The WPA made important contributions that benefited both the state and the nation. The 342 designated historic sites in the Ozarks bear witness to the profound role played by the New Deal that continues to enrich the lives of millions of visitors. Roosevelt also made a significant step concerning the values of the WPA.
He signed an executive order forbidding discrimination in WPA projects. This was one of the strongest actions, in his time, in support of equality for African Americans and other minorities. African Americans, who accounted for less than 10 % of the American population, particularly benefited from the WPA making up 15 - 20 % of its 8. 5 million employees. At this point, Roosevelt was bettering the nation and making things possible that didnt seem at all possible in the past. Although the Great Depression is viewed as an era of hard times and widespread misery, it proved to be a golden age to all the improvements by the WPA. When Franklin Roosevelt became president in 1933 the nation was in the depths of the worst depression it had ever experienced.
Roosevelt took an optimistic view of the situation and worked to achieve economic stability. After Roosevelt took office there were millions unemployed and the country was in a downward spiral. The nation listened to him through the radio as he brought hope to the stricken country. To put through his New Deal, Roosevelt put down conservative businessmen, reactionary senators, and even recalcitrant Supreme Court justices. It was through this that he strove for the once good economy that millions of Americans longed for.
In a years time Roosevelt, through the New Deal, had enacted more significant social and economic legislation than had been passed in all of Americas history. He got things done, as he pledged, for the people and the nation. Although each one of the programs for relief and works projects was costly, the high morale of the workers was well worth the money spent. In just a few years all the money spent to revive the nation will have been reacquired. The WPA was the final product of the New Deal which was the combination of the FERA, the CWA and the efforts of Roosevelt and his cabinet. The FERA was started as a preliminary measure to help jumpstart the economy and allow for some money to be given to the people.
It then evolved into the CWA, which was an experiment that proved successful. The nation gained so much from the efforts of the workers. The nation was not out of the depression yet and there was persistence pushing for another program and so the WPA was created. It remains today as one of the highest regarded measures taken to relieve the nation of economic hardship. More importantly, the WPA served a crucial function in convincing Americans that the government could respond to their needs. The effects of the New Deal are still seen today.
High schools were built that serve the people in providing education, thus promoting intellectualism for many future generations. Dams such as the Grand Coulee and the Hoover Dam are still active today in providing the surrounding area with power. Indeed, the accomplishments of the New Deal created a lasting impression. When the New Deal came to a close the downward spiral had been reversed- by the end of 1938 the nations economy was picking up speed and well on its way to becoming prosperous again. Despite its doubters, the New Deals programs for relief and works projects created a lasting impression on the nation along with people and landscapes of America thus providing a foundation for future growth.
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Research essay sample on Downward Spiral Lasting Impression
