Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Danielson Agis, Michael Aromando, and Zachary Borkan

Description

• Relief programs for Great Depression recovery

• Instituted on May 22, 1933

• Harry Hopkins was the chief architect

• Three objectives:

1. Improve adequacy of relief measures

2. Work for employable individuals on relief rolls

3. Diversification of relief programs

Description

• Purpose was to work cooperatively with state government

• Established that public relief was a public right

• Provided federal grants for relief by giving aid directly to states

• funds were funneled through local agencies

• funds for work completed, cash outlays, food and clothes

• within the first 2 hours, $5 million was distributed.

Role of Government

• Federal Government worked with State Government (funds and

grants)

• Increased Federal spending

- given 500 million dollars in funds to start

- distributed $3 billion over first 2 years

Role of Government

• Its involvement in everyday life was relief projects:

- construction, engineering, education, arts, public health

and recreation and a lot more!

• Established doctrine that people in need had right to public

relief from their government

Effectiveness

• Helped unemployed heads of families by giving them jobs.

o People could afford basic supplies.

• It was constitutional.

• Money distributed to the states = beneficial.

Effectiveness

• Instituted the Civil Works Administration

o The projects undertaken by these administrations were useful.

• Result- stimulated economy, built up country, increased

employment.

• Terminated in 1936, Works Progress Administration took its duties.