Economics: Everyone’s Decisions

South Dakota Council for the Social Studies Conference

June 2-3, 2009

Amsden Dam – Day County

New Deal Agencies and Their Impact in South Dakota

Brad TennantAssistant Professor

Presentation CollegeAberdeen, SD

Brad.Tennant@presentation.eduhttp://www.presentation.edu/eportfolios/

Brad.Tennant/index.htm

South Dakota during an Age of ProsperityBetween 1920-1930, nearly 23,000 S.D.

farms faced foreclosure.An additional 11,500 farms faced

foreclosure between 1931-1932.

By 1925, at least 175 banks closed in South Dakota.

By 1934, slightly more than 70% of all banks in South Dakota failed.

By the end of 1934, 39% of South Dakota’s total population was on relief rolls. This was the highest percentage of any state.

Significance of Depression Era Construction Boom

Employment (work relief)Promoted consumption of goods and services

(economic recovery)Consisted of a variety of internal

improvements and public works projects that greatly contributed to the state

Produced a valuable infrastructure for future state economic development

The Road to Relief and RecoveryNeed to keep people employed with little

down-time between projectsLed to new project proposalsCreated a legacy of roads, bridges, parks,

buildings, and dams as a part of South Dakota’s infrastructure

New Deal Agencies

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Public Works Administration (PWA)Works Progress Administration (WPA)

(aka Work Projects Administration)Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Early New Deal funding program, 1933-1935Focus was on highways and damsMany early FERA-funded projects were

completed by other New Deal agenciesEvery S.D. county, with the exception of then

Armstrong county, received FERA funding

Public Works Administration (PWA)

“Public works”South Dakota PWA projects included

community waterworks, schools, courthouses, municipal buildings and jails, sewer systems, street improvements, and civic auditoriums

Groton High School

Aberdeen Civic

Arena

Works Progress Administration(WPA)

Most significant New Deal agency in terms of the state’s infrastructure

18,780 miles of highways, roads, and streets1,303 bridges and viaducts11,193 culvertsOver 300 school building projects

WPANumerous public buildings ranging from

armories and utility plants to municipal buildings and the Governor’s Mansion

Sidewalks, water and sewer lines, and parks.

Athletic facilities and swimming poolsAirport landing strips and buildingsOver 500 dams

Aberdeen Armory

Former Governor’s Mansion

Richmond Lake Youth Camp

Aberdeen Riverside Memorial Park

Dinosaur Park – Rapid City

Civilian Conservation Corps CCCMale U.S. citizens 18-25 years of ageUnmarriedOut of school; out of workPhysically fit$25 per month ($20 for families)

CCCStructural improvements in state and

national parks such as forest thinning, bridges, fire towers, and service buildings

Transportation improvements including park trails, roads, foot paths, and landing fields

Flood and erosion control projects ranging from dams, ditches, rip rapping, shelterbelts, and planting vegetation cover

Recreational areas for camping and picnicking

CCCOver 1,400 miles of telephone lines

considerably improved communicationsMore than 1,500 miles of truck and fire

trails were constructed in the Black Hills area alone

More than 40 million trees plantedSeveral hundred dams built in conjunction

with other agenciesNearly 500 bridges

Near Wall, SD Near Custer, SD

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

Oglethorpe University AddressFranklin D. Roosevelt

May 22, 1932

SourcesAlexander Mitchell Library – Aberdeen, SD

Vertical Files: “Brown County WPA”; “South Dakota WPA.”

Dennis, Michelle L. “Federal Relief Construction in South Dakota, 1929-1941.” National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form. September 1998. State Historic Preservation Office, Pierre, SD. Also available at: www.nr.nps.gov/multiples/64500578.pdf

Schell, Herbert S. History of South Dakota. Sioux Falls, SD: Brevet Press, Inc., 1975.

Tennant, Brad and Buntin, Art. Relief and Recovery: The New Deal in Brown County – The Human, Architectural and Artistic Legacy. Aberdeen, SD: Aberdeen/Brown County Landmarks Commission, 2005.