The Works Progress Administration was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was set up on May 6, 1935, by presidential order, as a key part of the Second New Deal.
FDR prepares to speak about the establishment of the work relief program and Social Security at his fireside chat of April 28, 1935.
FERA administrator and WPA head Harry Hopkins speaking to reporters (November 1935)
WPA road development project
FDR and Hopkins (September 1938)
The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935, to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and included a Division of Negro Affairs headed by Mary McLeod Bethune who worked at the agency from 1936 to 1943. Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of 1939, the NYA was transferred from the WPA to the Federal Security Agency. In 1942, the NYA was transferred to the War Manpower Commission (WMC). The NYA was discontinued in 1943.
Badge belonging to a National Youth Administration Defense Worker
NYA float, "Projects for Out-of-School Youth", Inaugural Parade, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1937
NYA female ordnance worker