Wpa Literature Review

Literature Review Paper
(1935) Works Project Administration (WPA) created
Mohammed Alharbi
University Of Central Oklahoma

Abstract
This paper provides literature review regarding the functioning of the Works Project Administration (WPA) that was created in 1935. The WPA helped millions of Americans to find jobs during the period of Great Depression. For example, the WPA developed many significant programs in art, theater, music and writing in order to allow American artists and actors to give concerts, shows and circuses, perform plays, paint murals and produce books. Many projects developed by the WPA were criticized. Critics called the WPA programs “boondoggles”, arguing that most of the projects were aimed at buying
According to Glenn Altschuler (2008), “an unreconstructed New Dealer, Taylor dismisses or ignores evidence that public works projects did not promote -and may have retarded – recovery” (p. 1). Taylor celebrates the functioning of the WPA for “treating people as a resource and not as a commodity” (Altschuler, 2008, p. 1). Actually, millions of American people were thrown out of work because of the negative effects of economic crisis. The New Deal programs and policies gave many Americans an opportunity to “sweat in honest work as part of our democracy” (Altschuler, 2008, p. 1). According to statistical data, in the 1930s, the WPA helped to build more than “650,000 miles of roads, 78,000 bridges, 800 airports and served 900 million hot lunches to school children” (Altschuler, 2008, p.
The creation of the WPA in 1935 was a significant event in American history. I believe that the programs developed by the WPA were part of President Roosevelt’s public works strategy. I believe that the WPA was a successful initiative because it contributed to the U.S. development and addressed a wide range of problems caused by the Great Depression. Millions of Americans were involved in various programs developed by the WPA. Although the WPA was criticized by Conservatives and businessmen, the WPA projects were successful and beneficial for many Americans. The WPA projects gave hope to the unemployed and the poor people.
The references used in this literature review paper are reliable and valid. The authors are qualified to write on this topic as they have enough knowledge and experience to discuss important historical and political events. Most of the authors are historians and political experts. They are competent in the discussion of various political issues and historical events, especially those that contributed to the development of American