Skip to main content

United States. Works Progress Administration

 Organization

Biography

The Works Progress Administration was a government agency involved in public works programs. The agency was established in 1935 as part of the New Deal, and employed millions of Americans. The program was renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939.

Citation:
Encylopedia Brittanica, via www, February 2, 2022 (The Works Progress Administration was a government agency involved in public works programs. The agency was established in 1935 as part of the New Deal, and employed millions of Americans. The program was renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939)

Found in 52 Collections and/or Records:

T. Pat Matthews interview with Dorcas Griffeth

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230345917]
Identifier: MSS 2906
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Griffeth was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Griffeth talks about her old master and plantation, about bad treatment, and about when the Yankees came through North Carolina. Mainly, she explains how bad her circumstances were at the time of the interview.

Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with Elbert Hunter

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230346816]
Identifier: MSS 2916
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Hunter was interviewed by Mary A. Hicks in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Hunter says that his master always treated him well and this master never allowed the slaves to be bothered by "patterollers." He describes the Yankees and the damage they did to the plantation. He is happy to be free.

Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with Emma Blalock

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230346162]
Identifier: MSS 2894
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Blalock was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Blalock describes Christmas on the plantation. She talks about the use of liquor and drunkenness among slaves. She explains how the slaves were taken care of medically and says, "I think slavery wus a right good thing. Plenty to eat an' wear."

Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with George W. Harris

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230345909]
Identifier: MSS 2907
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Harris was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Harris says that while the conditions on his master's plantation were not ideal, his master always treated him kindly. He describes the housing, work, and recreation on the plantation and says that Yankee soldiers forced him and other slaves to work in a...
Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with Hannah Crasson

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230346691]
Identifier: MSS 2924
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Crasson was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Crasson said the master on the plantation did not beat the slaves, but his son and daughter were cruel at times. She added that the slaves were taught to fear the Union soldiers because they were told that the troops would kill them. She also described...
Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with Jane Arrington

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230346014]
Identifier: MSS 2875
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Arrington was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Arrington gives an overall description of her life as a slave. She talks about housing, food, children's games, work responsibilities, and families. She explains her master's philosophy on slave beatings and the slave trade.

Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with Jerry Hinton

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230346808]
Identifier: MSS 2917
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Hinton was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Hinton says his master treated him well and that slavery was "good" because he only had to work and not worry about taking care of himself. He describes the Yankees and how they ransacked his master's plantation. He says many were suffering at the time...
Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with Joe High

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230346790]
Identifier: MSS 2918
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. High was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. High talks about plantation life and tells of what he saw and experienced as a slave child. He says that his master fed and clothed him well and that he was content with slavery. He talks about the Yankees and the master's wife.

Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with John C. Bectom

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230346279]
Identifier: MSS 2892
Scope and Contents Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Bectom was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Bectom tells about how his parents and grandparents were treated by different masters. He says he was well fed and taken care of as a slave. He adds that slaves had prayer meetings but did not attend church. Bectom was taught how to read and write by...
Dates: 1937

T. Pat Matthews interview with Lizzie Baker

 File — Folder 1: [Barcode: 31197230345859]
Identifier: MSS 2881
Scope and Contents

Photocopy of a microfilmed copy of a typescript of an interview. Baker was interviewed by T. Pat Matthews in 1937 as part of the Federal Writer's Project for the Works Progress Administration. The item includes handwritten corrections. Baker relates stories about her parents' desires for freedom and attempts to escape from slavery. She tells about siblings she never met because they were sold away, and she expresses great love for President Franklin Roosevelt.

Dates: 1937