The Works Progress Administration (WPA), later called the Works Projects Administration, was the largest federal agency created under the New Deal. Established on May 6, 1935 by Executive Order 7034 and led by Harry Hopkins, it was designed to provide jobs for millions of unemployed people during the Great Depression. The WPA mainly hired workers and craftsmen who built over one million kilometers of roads, tens of thousands of bridges, and numerous airfields and housing projects. Major undertakings included the Tennessee Valley Authority and the construction of Camp David.
The WPA’s Federal One division also employed writers, artists, and other cultural workers in programs such as the Federal Writers’ Project, the Historical Records Survey, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Art Project. Their work included interviewing former slaves, organizing extensive theater and music performances, and carrying out influential archaeological excavations.
With unemployment dropping sharply after the United States entered World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dissolved the WPA on December 4, 1943.
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