The New Deal's Impact on Florida: Programs and Legacy

Florida's Crisis Before the New Deal

Florida's economic boom collapsed despite the growth it had experienced in the early 1920s. Severe hurricanes damaged significant portions of the state, including the Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Miami areas. A subsequent outbreak of the Mediterranean fruit fly spread across Florida, killing most of the citrus crop. Crop destruction and hurricane damage together drove Florida's economy into decline. The Great Depression of 1929 compounded these disasters, as falling stock values caused investors to lose their savings. National banks closed their doors, wiping out the savings of ordinary depositors. The Great Depression affected more than 90,000 families in Florida (Hiltzik, 2012). The combination of natural and economic disasters made it extremely difficult for the state to sustain its residents.

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, he introduced the "New Deal" — a set of programs and policies designed to pull the country out of economic collapse. These proposed programs aimed at rebuilding the nation's failed economy and providing immediate relief to struggling Americans.

Functions of the CCC in Florida

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) put young men across America to work in camps. Approximately 40,000 individuals from Florida participated in CCC projects. In return, they received food, clothing, and cash wages that were sent directly to their families. In Florida, tasks assigned to these workers included cutting trees to create fire lines. To replace felled trees, the CCC planted 13 million trees (Hiltzik, 2012). The corps also built federal buildings, schools, state parks, and wildlife preserves. Additionally, the program facilitated the rebuilding of the Overseas Railroad connecting Miami to Key West. The New Deal era more broadly enabled Florida to establish many of its conservation preserves and parks that remain in use today.

The Works Progress Administration and Cultural Recovery

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) offered employment to editors, researchers, and writers, while also targeting the employment of millions of workers within state and local governments. Through its administrative projects, the WPA engaged in preservation and conservation of Florida's cultural and natural heritage. Notable products of the WPA in Florida include the Writers' Project and the Art Project, through which thousands of people found employment. Among the most prominent figures associated with the WPA Writers' Project was Zora Neale Hurston, the celebrated African-American novelist, anthropologist, folklorist, and playwright (Grunwald, 2012).

References

Grunwald, M. (2012). The new new deal: The hidden story of change in the Obama era. Simon and Schuster.

Hiltzik, M. (2012). The new deal. Simon and Schuster.

Stuart, J., & Stack, J. (2008). The new deal in South Florida: Design, policy, and community building, 1933–1940. University Press of Florida.