Putting People Back to Work

Author Nick Taylor describes how the programs of the New Deal put Americans back to work in the 1930s, and how the efforts of the WPA helped tell that story.

Since 90% of WPA budgets had to be spent on labor, there was little left over for machinery and materials. The result was an emphasis on manual types of labor and the use of locally produced materials.

Taylor analyzes some of the prints showing men at work in the Queens College Museum's "Working Through the Great Depression" exhibit.

Video: Nick Taylor: Putting People Back to Work