US New Deal Programs: PWA, CCC, AAA, NRA (1933-1939)
Public Works Administration (PWA) Achievements
Between 1933 and 1939, the PWA funded and administered the construction of more than 34,000 projects, including airports, large electricity-generating dams, major warships for the Navy, and bridges. It also funded 70% of the new schools and one-third of the hospitals built during that period. The PWA had a “multiplier effect”: for every worker on a PWA project, almost two additional workers were employed indirectly. Among other achievements, the PWA accomplished the electrification of rural America. Some of the most famous PWA projects are the Triborough Bridge and the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City, the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State, and the Overseas Highway connecting Key West, Florida, to the mainland.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Impact
Formed in March 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of the first New Deal programs. It was a public works project intended to promote environmental conservation and to build good citizens through vigorous, disciplined outdoor labor. The CCC combined President Roosevelt’s interests in conservation and universal service for youth. He believed that this civilian “tree army” would relieve the rural unemployed and keep youth “off the city street corners.” The CCC operated under the Army’s control. Camp commanders had disciplinary powers, and corpsmen were required to address superiors as “sir.” By September 1935, over 500,000 young men had lived in CCC camps, most staying from six months to a year. Their work mostly focused on soil conservation and reforestation. They also:
- Dug canals and ditches
- Built over 30,000 wildlife shelters
- Stocked rivers and lakes with nearly a billion fish
- Restored historic battlefields
- Cleared beaches and campgrounds
Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), considered the first modern U.S. farm bill, was enacted in May 1933. It was an omnibus farm-relief bill embodying the schemes of the major national farm organizations. It restricted agricultural production by paying farmers to reduce crop area and to kill off excess livestock. Its purpose was to reduce crop surplus to effectively raise the value of crops to a level equal in purchasing power to that of 1909-1914. The money for these subsidies was generated through an exclusive tax on companies that processed farm products. The Act created a new agency, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, to oversee the distribution of the subsidies. In 1936, the Supreme Court declared the Act unconstitutional for levying this tax on the processors only to have it paid back to the farmers. Regulation of agriculture was deemed a state power. However, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 remedied these issues.
National Recovery Administration (NRA)
In June 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), opening the way for cooperation between the federal government and businesses in order to stimulate the economy during the Great Depression. The NIRA authorized the president to institute industry-wide codes intended to eliminate unfair trade practices, reduce unemployment, establish minimum wages and maximum hours, and guarantee the right of labor to bargain collectively. The NIRA created the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which administered the code-writing process and the enforcing of approved codes. The agency ultimately established 557 basic codes and 208 supplementary codes that affected about 22 million workers.