Figure 1.--The photo was taken in June 1937. It shows Art Simplot and his family in front of their 'new' home. The Resettlement Administration helped him buy the homestead near Black River Falls, Wisconsin. All he had to do was pay the taxes. There were six children and we can see that they were born very closely one to another. They look to be about 1-10 years of age. The children are wearing overalls, still common in rural America. The photograph was taken as part of the FSA photographic project. What we do not know is how the family made out on their homestead. The photographer clearly saw this as an accomplishment, but unless the family was able to turn this homstead into a profitable farm, it was not really a productive accomplishment. Photographer Russel Lee. Source: Library of Congress LC-USF34-030189-D).

The RA launched a range of projects all over the country. We do not fully understand the projects. Here we see a family settled on a homestead near Black River alls, wisconsin (figure 1). We notice that there was also a Resettlement Camp there. We are not sure what was done in the Camp. It may have provided services to the families being resettled. While the President could create the Agency by executive order, Congessional support was needed for funding. And Congress refused the massive outlays that Tugwell needed for his resettlement efforts. Congress only approved funding for relocating a few thousand individuals on 9 million acres (36,000 km2), less than 10 percent of Tugwell's goal. Several greenbelt cities were built which received some positive commentary. The cooperative future that Tugwell envisioned, however, was never accomplished. And while this was undeniaably a well intentioned effort, it is not clear just how effective the various programs were. One of the most appealing elenents of the effort was the destitute families that the RA resettled on abandoned or unused land. Farm Security Administration photographers provided hear-rending images of many of these resettlement efforts. We do not know, however, how the individuals resettled made out on their new honsteads. Several greenbelt cities were built which received some positive commentary. These programs were from the beginning experimental. And there were during the New Deal admiring , hopefull assessments. [Nowell] As the programs did not prove very effective, there were less discussion by academics who had hoped the programs woukd suceed.

Sources

Nowell, R.I. "Experience of Resettlement Administration Program in Lake States," Journal of Farm Economics Vol. 19, No. 1, (February 1937), pp. 206-220. Published by: Agricultural & Applied Economics Association.

Created: 10:21 AM 2/9/2015
Last updated: 10:21 AM 2/9/2015