With the upcoming 1940 Census you are going to see a lot of references to the CCC and the WPA. Two questions on the census are directly related to government jobs.
Randy Seaver [1]in his blog "What Columns of the 1940 U.S. Census Will be Indexed?" states that Question 21 & 22 on the Census are:
21. Was this person at Work for pay or profit in private or non-emergency Govt. work during week of March 24-30?
22. If not, was he at work on, or assigned to, public Emergency Work (WPA, NYA, CCC, etc.) during week of March 24-30?
22. If not, was he at work on, or assigned to, public Emergency Work (WPA, NYA, CCC, etc.) during week of March 24-30?
The CCC – Civilian Conservation Corps[2] - and the WPA – Works Project Administration[3] was projects of President Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal Agency. The purpose of these two programs was to employ millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects.
When Congress passed the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 on April 8, 1935 the WPA was funded. The Work Progress Administration, later renamed Work Project Administration (WPA) was the larger of these two organizations. The WPA built many new infrastructures throughout the United States such and bridges and buildings. It also fed the children and redistributed food, clothing, and housing.
At its peak in 1938, the WPA employed over 3 million men and some women.
On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed and America entered World War II. This led to an economic boom and low unemployment with ultimate official termination of the WPA on 30 June 1943.
The CCC – Civilian Conservation Corps was established to employ young men in relief families who were unable to find employment during the Great Depression. It was primarily for single men, age 17-23 from relief families. These men reforest America, built roads and over 800 parks throughout the United States.
Among the many treasures I have from my "metal detecting" hobby is this belt buckle.
Research on the internet shows Company 420[4] to be from the Bristol, Tennessee area.
Thank you for the explanation. I had no idea what the WPA project notation after my great grandfather's name meant.
ReplyDeleteDo you know how we can find out what project our relative was assigned to work on? It would be interesting to know what they did.
ReplyDeleteSandra,
ReplyDeleteYou might contact the Archives and see what they have - Listing here:
http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/035.html
The local newspapers for your ancestors home town may have news about projects that the men works on.
You could contact one of the museums on this page and see if they can provide a better answer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps
Sorry I couldn't help more.
Charlie