Amid all of the federal programs that provided aid to unemployed workers, the majority of them focused on construction based industries and public works projects. The Federal Project Number One (Federal One for short), a subdivision of the WPA (Works Progress Administration), however, was implemented in 1935 to provide relief for artists. Under the Federal Project Number One, there were divisions for each artistic medium. It included the Federal Writers’ Project, the Federal Art Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Theater Project.
The Federal Writers’ Project was lead by Henry Alsberg, and sponsored written works, including compilations of local histories and guides, oral histories, children’s books, and ethnographies. One of its most prominent publications was the American Guide Series, was a series of books that contained a comprehensive history if the nation by state.
The Federal Art Project sponsored American artists, some of the most notable being Mark Rothko, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, some of the greatest abstract impressionists. It also sponsored community art centers and classes to cultivate appreciation.
The Federal Music Project funded displaced composers and musicians. It instituted classes for all ages, and sponsored the formation of bands and orchestras. Through its music festivals, recitals, and concerts, the FPA employed many musicians and raised appreciation for music.
The Federal Theatre Project was the most controversial of the Federal One programs. It sought to employ workers in theater, from actors and directors, to technicians and designers. It employed thousands of laborers, but many saw it was a huge propaganda effort by the government. Critics claimed that the FTP was spreading communist messages through its plays. Laws protecting employees from political discrimination were seen as protecting members of the Communist party. In addition, employees of the FTP ran a newspaper called Living Newspapers. They focused on immediate social issues, often taking progressive themes. In 1939, the Federal Theatre Project was cancelled, in part because of Congressional disapproval of the left-wing themes of many of its productions.
Great post Elise. I didn't realize there was even an attempt to help out artists during this time. I had gotten that impression that the Works Progress Administration's main goals were to silence protest by Huey Long and Dr. Francis Townsend and to provide employment through useful projects (with those projects focusing on construction). I'm glad to have that cleared up.
ReplyDeleteWith the PWA, you can truly see Roosevelt's ideas beginning to take shape. While it was largely protested by the Four Horsemen, Roosevelt's ideas to put the unemployed to work for the government was a logical one even though it meant the government directly interfering with the economy. It's nice to see this post and that it was just construction workers, but painters and authors who received employment at this time, and who most likely would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteAs said, usually the unemployed get into being construction workers. But these programs that you have mentioned involving the art world made me very curious. How important was art at this time, and what caused all of these programs to fall into place? Anyone would think that of all things the government could attempt to put assistance towards, they would not choose art, but they did. A lot of the artists found at this time were great artists, and could not have become what they did if it were not for the government involvement in creating the art programs.
ReplyDeleteI agree - it is very nice to see the government making art a priority. Though to answer Nick's question (at least in part), I believe that at the time, the government was very worried about having too many unemployed people on it's hands. In their opinion, it was better to pay people to do a useless job rather than have them sitting around doing nothing. It kept people out of trouble and kept morale high, as the men who were then able to find work did not think of themselves as charity cases living off of government handouts. Indeed, many social issues stemmed from unemployment, one of which included men losing respect for themselves. Because they were unable to hold a job, the men convinced themselves they could not support their family, and so did not deserve to run it. This led to many women taking over as head of the household, and many children to have less respect for their fathers as long as they remained unemployed. But if a man was employed under one of these programs - even if it was just to create a work of public art - it would allow the man to bring home money to support his family and thereby restore respect for himself and his family's respect for him. Something to consider.
ReplyDeleteNice post Elise! It's nice to see that the government actually did care about others besides large businesses and did everything they could at the time to help out. Like Ashley said, it's better that they had something to do instead of sitting at home wallowing in self pity or shame because they could not provide for their family. With the aid of these programs, a bit of stability was provided in American homes and kept people from giving up on themselves entirely.
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