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University of New Orleans

"Much Depends on Local Customs:"The WPA's New Deal for New Orleans, 1935-1940

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The Works Progress Administration came to New Orleans in 1935, a time of economic uncertainty and even fear. The implementation of the relief embodied in the WPA was influenced by local factors that reinforced the existing social order at first but that left a framework through which that order could be challenged. The business of providing WPA relief also was attended by scandal and criticism. In spite of these inherent weaknesses and certain incident, the WPA left behind an enviable physical legacy that is used and enjoyed today by the citizens of New Orleans. This paper explores the roots of that legacy, some of the obstacles faced by the WPA, and how a local government, and its citizens, related and adjusted to an increasingly powerful and intrusive federal government.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
M.A.
Level thesis:degree_level
Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
History
Year
2010

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Sorum, William A.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Mitchell, Mary N.
  • Dupont, Robert L.
  • Hirsch, Arnold R.

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1181
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2164

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of New Orleans
Base URL
scholarworks.uno.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Sorum, William A.. "Much Depends on Local Customs:"The WPA's New Deal for New Orleans, 1935-1940. Thesis thesis, 2010. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1181