New Deal work relief in Adair County, Oklahoma.

摘要

This work examines the implementation, project output, and effectiveness of President Roosevelt's New Deal work relief programs in Adair County, Oklahoma, during the years 1933 to 1940. Additionally, this work compiles an inventory of the tangible results of work relief, which includes buildings and structures still in existence at the time of this writing and those no longer extant. Historians in the last few decades narrowed their focus of study of work relief from the national level to local levels. In keeping with this trend, this work analyzes New Deal work relief at the county level. No prior historical study of these events in Adair County exists. Upon inauguration as president, Roosevelt implemented his plans for a New Deal for the American people. This plan included the creation of several work relief programs aimed to provide immediate relief to the destitute. These programs provided employment to the needy, and, at the same time, increased national wealth by the creation and improvement of roads, public buildings, community sanitation, and soil conservation methods. This employment provided little more than subsistence level payments, so as to not compete with private employment. Also, work relief proved expensive, and program administrators maintained strict quota limits. Analysis of work relief program enrollments reveals that the percentage of Adair County's labor force enrolled in work relief exceeded percentages at the state and national levels. Compared to other areas, the citizens of Adair County received a fair share of New Deal Work programs. In addition, work relief programs provided long-term improvements within the county. The output of work relief updated the county's road infrastructure, provided new and improved public buildings, improved sanitation, and provided recreational facilities. Although New Deal work relief programs provided relief to a limited number of county inhabitants, these programs, through tangible work output, fostered a psychological uplift during the Depression. These projects permanently altered the county landscape and proved to be lasting reminders of the Roosevelt Administration's initiative to bring a New Deal to Adair County.