(See pictures below!)
A recent United Nations report ranks America near the bottom in child well-being, among developed countries. This is no great surprise, however, since 13 to 16 million American children live in poverty (see "By the numbers: Childhood poverty in the U.S."). Meanwhile, income inequality soars and billions of American dollars reside in offshore, tax-evading bank accounts (see, e.g., "Piercing the secrecy of offshore tax havens"). Also, according to a recent report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, "Nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults are neither in school nor in the workforce, veering toward chronic underemployment as adults and failing to gain the skills employers need in the 21st century..."
So, while we're preparing our low-income children for their debt, their unemployment, their hopelessness, and their incarceration in the world's largest prison-industrial complex (increasingly run by private, for-profit corporations), I thought it would be interesting to highlight 15 ways the New Deal helped young people blossom into America's greatest generation during the 1930s and 40s. This was during one of those rare times when government (or, "We-The-People") actually cared more about We-The-People than handing out tax breaks to the mega-wealthy and creating tax loopholes for job-exporting businesses.
15 Ways The New Deal Helped America's Youth Become Part Of The Greatest Generation
1. Provided employment opportunities for their parents in programs like the Civil Works Administration, Works Progress Administration, and Public Works Administration.
(The caption for this photo reads: "WPA (Works Progress Administration) worker and family at dinner. Zeigler, Illinois." Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
The New Deal not only provided work for the unemployed, but also provided more work for private contractors via the enormous construction projects of the Public Works Administration (PWA), e.g., large dams, hospitals, highway projects, naval vessels.
2. Provided jobs and training opportunities to teens and young adults (ages 16-25) through the National Youth Administration.
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
(A young woman in a National Youth Administration welding class, in Daytona Beach, Florida, 1943. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
3. Instilled in young adults an appreciation for work, discipline, and camaraderie, through the Civilian Conservation Corps.
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
(CCC boys cutting down a dead tree in Sequoia National Park. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)
"It was a good clean life of discipline. Everything was spit and polish. You were outdoors all the time. You slept out under the stars at night. You learned how to get along with people, with the fellows. I think it shaped my life. I learned you don't get anything unless your work for it" (Frank G. Schmidt, CCC Alumni, in the book "Roosevelt's Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps," Perry H. Merrill, 1981.)
4. Promoted reading and education.
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
5. Built schools and improved colleges.
(WPA workers beginning preparations for the football stadium at Fort Hill High School. The school building itself was built with the assistance of funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA). Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)
(Fort Hill High School today, still in use...thousands of graduates later. Photo by Brent McKee.)
(WPA men working an athletic field at Frostburg State University, then called Frostburg State Teachers College. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)
The WPA alone built, repaired, or improved tens of thousands of educational buildings.
6. Fed children and promoted a good diet.
(These children are enjoying a lunch provided by a New Deal surplus commodities program. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)
(The WPA served over a billion school lunches, and also had a summer lunch program for the children of low-income families. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. )
7. Clothed children.
(The WPA created 67 million articles of clothing for boys, 78 million for girls, 45 million for infants, and produced 29 million diapers. Photo courtesy of the University of Maryland College Park Archives.)
8. Sheltered children.
(WPA nursery schools provided for the children of low-income families, as well as for the children of families whose parents were taking part in the war effort, e.g., soldiers, defense industry workers.)
(The WPA sheltered children affected by natural disasters. Skip to the 7-minute mark in the above video to see an example. Video source link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbINb4fkebM.)
9. Promoted good child care.
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
10. Raised awareness about dangerous diseases, built hospitals, and operated health clinics.
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
The PWA funded large hospital construction, and the WPA hired unemployed nurses, pharmacists, and others to operate mobile and fixed-location health clinics.
11. Created a cleaner America.
(WPA workers installing a sewer line in Allegany County, Maryland, in 1936.)
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
Various New Deal programs facilitated the installation of water lines, sewer lines, sewage disposal plants, and sanitary privies all across the country, creating a cleaner environment for children to grow up in.
12. Created and promoted recreational opportunities.
(Basketball court and playground at Taylor Park in Keedysville, Maryland. Though these amenities are fairly new, Taylor park itself was created by the WPA in 1940.)
(WPA poster promoting a new recreation program, including a gym, table tennis, social recreation, basketball, arts, crafts, badminton, dramatics, volleyball, reading room, dancing, and games.)
The WPA built, repaired, or improved thousands of parks, athletic fields, stadiums, playgrounds, tennis courts, ice skating areas, and more.
13. Provided toys to the children of low-income families.
(A WPA worker making a toy in Arizona in 1940. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
(The caption for this photograph reads, "WPA: Toy Repair Projects: toys and dolls mended by workers: many of the dolls are made available to underprivileged children through Toy Lending Libraries, given to WPA Nursery Schools, and some are given out at Christmas time for children to keep." Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)
A 1940 Associated Press article reported that "...some 2,000,000 toys would be distributed to underprivileged children this Christmas" by the WPA ("WPA To Distribute Toys," Baltimore Sun, December 15, 1940).
14. Encouraged children to be creative and artistic.
(Children painting in a WPA nursery. Photo courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.)
(The WPA frequently promoted children's art and put children's art on display. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
15. Promoted safety.
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
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It's a shame that American youth don't have a New Deal today, to assist their learning and to assist their transition into adulthood. Indeed, considering the federal government they do have, I'd say they're actually getting ripped-off by a raw deal.
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