Chapter 04
Roosevelt’s New Deal as Slogans

IV. Federal Relief Becomes a Political Tool

Despite their intended purpose, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Public Works Administration failed to effectively aid the unemployed. Over time, these programs devolved into instruments of political favoritism. States aligned with the Democratic Party and supportive of President Roosevelt tended to receive a disproportionate share of federal relief and public works projects, whereas states in greatest need were not always granted sufficient assistance.

The framers of the Constitution unanimously viewed relief as a matter to be managed locally and voluntarily, and the Constitution did not stipulate any federal obligation in the realm of charity. They feared that federal involvement in relief efforts would lead to the politicization of aid, whereby politicians and recipients might collude — exchanging sustenance for political support. Such federal aid, they cautioned, would obscure the proper boundaries between federal and local jurisdictions.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a federal relief policy by signing legislation that substantially increased the funding available to the states. In response, nearly all governors and many mayors resumed lobbying efforts to obtain as much funding as possible from the newly established Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). This pivotal shift — channeling federal funds into local relief efforts — marked a transformation in American attitudes toward work and responsibility. During the New Deal, states increasingly came to view the provision of relief as a federal obligation. Rather than striving to raise funds locally, they frequently overstated their needs to federal authorities in order to secure larger appropriations, thereby transferring the fiscal burden of higher taxes required to fund these programs onto other states.

The federal government’s $300 million in relief funds was raised through taxes on corporate and personal income, along with excise taxes on goods such as automobiles, cigarettes, and movie tickets. Regardless of the legitimacy of the relief effort itself, these funds eventually became the most significant and manipulable political asset at the government’s disposal.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt replaced the Federal Emergency Relief Administration with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), thereby deepening the politicization of relief efforts. The new framework granted Roosevelt greater authority over the distribution of federal aid, including the selection of specific projects and the allocation of funds to particular states. Relief thus became a political instrument, especially in pivotal swing states essential to future Democratic victories, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The case of New Jersey was particularly striking: WPA funds were redirected from impoverished states like Kentucky and Tennessee to more affluent states. For instance, technical workers were paid 35 cents per hour in Kentucky and Tennessee, whereas in the politically competitive state of New Jersey, the wage reached $2.25 per hour. This strategic allocation contributed to a narrow Democratic victory in New Jersey.