In 1935, the Congress approved the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act. It allocated 4.8 billion dollars to put people to work.
The largest part of the appropriations went to the Works Progress Administration. The W.P.A. built or improved 20,000 hospitals, schools, airports and playgrounds. In 1935, it employed 3.5 million workers. It even had extensive programs for unemployed artists and writers. By the time it was closed in 1943, it had employed over 8.5 million people. |
