Works Progress Administration(WPA)

Definition

The WPA was an American New Deal agency employing millions of job-seekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads during the Great Depression.

Analogy

Imagine if your school decided it wanted every student involved in some sort of project or club. That's kind of what WPA did for adults during the Great Depression - it created jobs so people could earn money while improving their communities with new roads, buildings, etc.

Related terms

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): A major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal that provided manual labor jobs related to conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state, and local governments.

Federal Art Project (FAP): Division of WPA created under FDR’s New Deal that employed artists on public sector work projects during The Great Depression

Social Security Act: An act passed by Congress as part of the New Deal in 1935 that provided old-age pensions, disability payments, and unemployment benefits.