New Deal Accomplishments

Above: The Civil Works Administration (CWA) had many immunization projects, but the total number of immunizations administered is unclear. This newspaper clipping is from a longer article in The Cushing Daily Citizen (Cushing, Oklahoma), January 21, 1934, p. 1. Image from newspapers.com , used here for educational and non-commercial purposes . Above: Across the country, the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) administered 1,355,304 immunizations against typhoid, diphtheria, smallpox, scarlet fever, and measles. The above newspaper clipping is part of a longer article in The Fargo Forum (Fargo, North Dakota), February 9, 1935, p. 3. Image from newspapers.com , used here for educational and non-commercial purposes . Above: WPA nurses preparing to give typhoid fever immunizations in Charleston, South Carolina, May 1938. Photo from the National Archives . Above: The description for this photograph, taken between 1935 and 1943, reads: "Jefferson C...

Above: Between 1933 and 1939, the Public Works Administration (PWA) provided funds for 388 bridges across America. Many of them were large and magnificent, like the North Bend Bridge in Oregon (shown above). This bridge is still in operation and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Be sure to see the fantastic 8-minute documentary, " In Landscape Harmony: New Deal Bridges for the Oregon Coast ." Photo from the National Archives . Above: A PWA-funded drawbridge in California, connecting Oakland to Alameda. Notice the gear teeth, to the left, used to raise and lower the bridge (see next photo). This bridge was completed in 1935. Many bridges of yesteryear were visually engaging and inspirational (expansive metalwork, ornamentation, covered bridges, sculptures).  Photo from the National Archives . Above: The Oakland-to-Alameda drawbridge appears to still exist today. This is a screenshot from the YouTube video, " Park Street Bridge ," whi...

Above: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the lake, bathhouse (since expanded), and beach at Herrington Manor State Park in western Maryland (see, e.g., "Herrington Manor Gains Popularity," Cumberland Evening Times (Cumberland, Maryland), September 30, 1948, p. 12). Across the nation, the CCC created nearly 3,500 acres of new beaches for our leisure and recreation. Photo by Brent McKee, 2013 . Above: These are members of CCC Company 1421, ca 1937. While stationed in Miami, Florida, Company 1421 worked at Matheson Hammock Park (near Coral Gables, Florida) and their projects included "the building of roads, the creation of several lakes, the construction of a yacht basin and a shark proof swimming beach, as well as the building of many permanent park structures from native stone" (CCC,  Annual of District F, Fourth Corps Area , Direct Advertising Company, 1937, p. 103). Ultimately, two beaches would be built by the CCC, as the Miami Herald explained: ...

Above: America's roads--and especially its secondary roads--are in terrible condition, as the 2025 Infrastructure Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) notes (and as our daily drives will confirm!). Potholes, patches on top of patches, rough culvert backfill, deeply recessed manholes & grates, alligator cracking, and more await us all. Image from the Washington State Department of Transportation and the American Society of Civil Engineers; used here for educational and non-commercial purposes . Above: Estimates of roadwork completed by the New Deal's Civil Works Administration (CWA), 1933-1934, range from 200,000 miles to 500,000 miles. More CWA workers were employed on roadwork than any other type of project. The work consisted of "hundreds of bridges large and small, thousands of culverts, hundreds of retaining walls, numerous tunnels and underpasses, and extensive excavation operations." Quote and photo from: Henry G. Alsberg, Ameri...

Above: A Civil Works Administration (CWA)-supported canning project in Texas,  ca. 1934. Photo from Photo from: Henry G. Alsberg, America Fights the Depression: A Photographic Record of the Civil Works Administration, New York: Coward-McCann Publishers, 1934, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes . Above: Through two-types of gardens--"quantity-production gardens" and "family subsistence gardens"--the Work Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) promoted the production, preservation, and canning of food for families in need. This initiative reduced the strain on charity and federal funds, and also provided more nutritious food. The creation and/or maintenance of subsistence gardens was a requirement for many families on cash relief. Photo from: The Emergency Work Relief Program of the FERA, April 1, 1934 - July 1, 1935, p. 57 (1935). Above: The cover of a subsistence garden brochure, from the Virginia Emergency Relief Admin...