1935 Franklin D. Roosevelt - Emergency Relief Appropriation Act

In 1935, Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized almost $5 million to implement work-relief programs to help lift the country out of the depths of the Great Depression.  On April 8, 1935 FDR signed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act. Chief among this act, was the creation of the Works Progress Administration  (WPA) and the Public Works Administration (PWA).   The WPA put Americans to work clearing slums, building highways, schools, hospitals, airports, and playgrounds.  

In his 1935 annual address, Roosevelt explained to congress his plan to put America back to work.  He was opposed to welfare.

"To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is in violation of the traditions of America. Work must be found for able-bodied but destitute workers.
The Federal Government must and shall quit this business of relief."

Roosevelt continued by explaining that providing relief to individuals without the satisfaction of hard work was to provide a narcotic, "a subtle destroyer of the human spirit".  Instead, Roosevelt would put them to work.  Of the 5 million people out of work in 1935, some had been and always would be dependent upon welfare, but 3.5 million of them were able and willing to work.  It was Roosevelt's opinion that the federal government was ultimately responsible for the fate of these individuals.   This was the middle class, they were ready and willing to work, but had become victims of a nation-wide depression caused by conditions that were not local but national.  The states and local agencies should remain responsible for providing welfare, but only the federal government had the responsibility and the "power and credit sufficient to meet this saturation".  So Roosevelt outlined the seven principles of his plan.


1.  All Work would be useful.

"All work undertaken should be useful- not just for a day, or a year, but useful in the sense that it affords permanent improvement in living conditions or that it creates future new wealth for the Nation."

2.  Jobs should pay better than welfare, but not more than private sector .

"Compensation on emergency public projects should be in the form of security payments which should be larger than the amount now received as a relief dole, but at the same time not so large as to encourage the rejection of opportunities for private employment or the leaving of private employment to engage in Government work."

3.  Projects should require Manual Labor.

"Projects should be undertaken on which a large percentage of direct labor can be used."

4.  Projects should have quick return on investments.

"Preference should be given to those projects which will be self-liquidating in the sense that there is a reasonable expectation that the Government will get its money back at some future time."

5.  Do not compete with private industry.

"The projects undertaken should be selected and planned so as to compete as little as possible with private enterprises. This suggests that if it were not for the necessity of giving useful work to the unemployed now on relief, these projects in most instances would not now be undertaken."

6.  Projects should scale-back as the private economy rebounds.

"The planning of projects would seek to assure work during the coming fiscal year to the individuals now on relief, or until such time as private employment is available. In order to make adjustment to increasing private employment, work should be planned with a view to tapering it off in proportion to the speed with which the emergency workers are offered positions with private employers."

7.  Projects should be located where there is greatest need for employment relief.

"Effort should be made to locate projects where they will serve the greatest unemployment needs as shown by present relief rolls, and the broad program of the National Resources Board should be freely used for guidance in selection. Our ultimate objective being the enrichment of human lives, the Government has the primary duty to use its emergency expenditures as much as possible to serve those who cannot secure the advantages of private capital."

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