A New Deal for Montana

(The flag of Montana, courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Seven interesting New Deal facts and figures for Montana...

1. Civil Works Administration (CWA):

In January of 1934, there were over 21,000 Montanans working in the CWA, building or repairing schools, roads, bridges, and more. 

(From the "Analysis of Civil Works Program Statistics," p. 18, 1939)

2. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC): 

Between 1933 and 1942, 25,690 men in Montana worked in the CCC. "This figure included 17,687 junior and veteran enrollees, 5,069 Indians, and 2,935 non-enrolled camp officers and supervisory workers." 

(From Perry H. Merrill's book, "Roosevelt's Forest Army: A History of the Civilian Conservation Corps," 1933-1942, p. 146, 1981)

3. Pubic Works Administration (PWA): 

By 1939, the PWA had contributed $20 million in funding towards 161 infrastructure projects in Montana. In today's dollars, that's about $330 million. 

(From "America Builds: The Record of PWA," p. 285, 1939).

4. National Youth Administraton (NYA):

During academic year 1939-1940, 207 schools, colleges, and universities in Montana participated in the NYA program, employing about 3,000 young men and women. 

(From the "Final Report of the National Youth Administration, Fiscal Years 1936-1943," pp. 246-247, 1944).

(WPA poster, courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)

5. Public Works of Art Project (PWAP):

Between 1933 and 1934, in Region 16 of the PWAP (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana), unemployed artists were paid to produce 33 murals, 72 sculptures, 332 oil paintings, and more, to decorate public buildings and parks. 

(From Public Works of Art Project, "Report of the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury to Federal Emergency Relief Administrator, December 8, 1933 - June 30, 1934," p. 8, 1934)

   

6. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA): 

In February of 1935, 630 college students in Montana were employed in FERA's College Student Aid Program. This was a program "undertaken in order to enable young persons who would not otherwise have been able to do so to continue their education, and thereby reduce the influx of young workers into the labor market" (recall that during the Great Depression there was a large drop in the demand for labor). 

(From the "Final Statistical Report of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration," pp. 64 and 232, 1942)

7. Works Progress Administration (WPA):

Between 1935 and 1943, WPA workers in Montana produced 2.8 million articles of clothing; served 4.7 million school lunches; created or improved 10,000 miles of roads; built or improved 3,000 bridges; installed or improved 17,000 culverts; engaged in 400 projects to build, repair, or improve schools; created or improved 105 parks; installed 133 miles of water lines; constructed 88,000 linear feet of new airport & airfield runway; and more. 

(From the "Final Report on the WPA Program, 1935-43," pp. 134-136, 1946)       

    

***Explore New Deal projects in Montana...on the Living New Deal Map!***