Download - Economics: Everyone’s Decisions
Economics: Everyone’s Decisions
South Dakota Council for the Social Studies Conference
June 2-3, 2009
Amsden Dam – Day County
New Deal Agencies and Their Impact in South Dakota
Brad TennantAssistant Professor
Presentation CollegeAberdeen, SD
[email protected]://www.presentation.edu/eportfolios/
Brad.Tennant/index.htm
South Dakota during an Age of ProsperityBetween 1920-1930, nearly 23,000 S.D.
farms faced foreclosure.An additional 11,500 farms faced
foreclosure between 1931-1932.
By 1925, at least 175 banks closed in South Dakota.
By 1934, slightly more than 70% of all banks in South Dakota failed.
By the end of 1934, 39% of South Dakota’s total population was on relief rolls. This was the highest percentage of any state.
Significance of Depression Era Construction Boom
Employment (work relief)Promoted consumption of goods and services
(economic recovery)Consisted of a variety of internal
improvements and public works projects that greatly contributed to the state
Produced a valuable infrastructure for future state economic development
The Road to Relief and RecoveryNeed to keep people employed with little
down-time between projectsLed to new project proposalsCreated a legacy of roads, bridges, parks,
buildings, and dams as a part of South Dakota’s infrastructure
New Deal Agencies
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
Public Works Administration (PWA)Works Progress Administration (WPA)
(aka Work Projects Administration)Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
Early New Deal funding program, 1933-1935Focus was on highways and damsMany early FERA-funded projects were
completed by other New Deal agenciesEvery S.D. county, with the exception of then
Armstrong county, received FERA funding
Public Works Administration (PWA)
“Public works”South Dakota PWA projects included
community waterworks, schools, courthouses, municipal buildings and jails, sewer systems, street improvements, and civic auditoriums
Groton High School
Aberdeen Civic
Arena
Works Progress Administration(WPA)
Most significant New Deal agency in terms of the state’s infrastructure
18,780 miles of highways, roads, and streets1,303 bridges and viaducts11,193 culvertsOver 300 school building projects
WPANumerous public buildings ranging from
armories and utility plants to municipal buildings and the Governor’s Mansion
Sidewalks, water and sewer lines, and parks.
Athletic facilities and swimming poolsAirport landing strips and buildingsOver 500 dams
Aberdeen Armory
Former Governor’s Mansion
Richmond Lake Youth Camp
Aberdeen Riverside Memorial Park
Dinosaur Park – Rapid City
Civilian Conservation Corps CCCMale U.S. citizens 18-25 years of ageUnmarriedOut of school; out of workPhysically fit$25 per month ($20 for families)
CCCStructural improvements in state and
national parks such as forest thinning, bridges, fire towers, and service buildings
Transportation improvements including park trails, roads, foot paths, and landing fields
Flood and erosion control projects ranging from dams, ditches, rip rapping, shelterbelts, and planting vegetation cover
Recreational areas for camping and picnicking
CCCOver 1,400 miles of telephone lines
considerably improved communicationsMore than 1,500 miles of truck and fire
trails were constructed in the Black Hills area alone
More than 40 million trees plantedSeveral hundred dams built in conjunction
with other agenciesNearly 500 bridges
Near Wall, SD Near Custer, SD
“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
Oglethorpe University AddressFranklin D. Roosevelt
May 22, 1932
SourcesAlexander Mitchell Library – Aberdeen, SD
Vertical Files: “Brown County WPA”; “South Dakota WPA.”
Dennis, Michelle L. “Federal Relief Construction in South Dakota, 1929-1941.” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form. September 1998. State Historic Preservation Office, Pierre, SD. Also available at: www.nr.nps.gov/multiples/64500578.pdf
Schell, Herbert S. History of South Dakota. Sioux Falls, SD: Brevet Press, Inc., 1975.
Tennant, Brad and Buntin, Art. Relief and Recovery: The New Deal in Brown County – The Human, Architectural and Artistic Legacy. Aberdeen, SD: Aberdeen/Brown County Landmarks Commission, 2005.