Introduction
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2023-08-16T19:12:34+00:00
The period between 1929 and 1939 posed unprecedented challenges for the citizens and government of the United States. The Great Depression left many Americans facing economic hardship, such as debt, home foreclosures, reduced wages, and unemployment. By 1930, four million Americans were out of a job, and homelessness was a pervasive consequence of this economic turmoil. By 1933, 2 million homeless people were migrating across the nation seeking shelter, food, and jobs. Desperate for shelter, the homeless sought comfort in boxcars, bridge overpasses, and Hoovervilles that sprang up along the borders of various large cities. Homeless citizens and their make-shift communities brought national attention that alternated between empathy and hostility, and demanded federal intervention.
To provide federal assistance to the increasing transient population, Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Federal Transient Program under the First New Deal in 1933. The FTP gave states funding to establish transient bureaus. Georgia was among the first states to receive federal funding and established five transient bureaus, which built camps that housed 200 to 800 men searching for work and shelter. Here, men worked in exchange for a small income, housing, and meals. The men were assessed on their preexisting skills and matched with job training opportunities such as barbering, tailoring, cooking, and clerical work. For example, some transient camps published newsletters that utilized editing, reporting, creative writing, and operating a mimeograph to portray art through stencils. In these ways, transient camps equipped homeless men with job skills that could result in real-world employment.
One such newsletter was The New Deal from a transient camp in Macon, Georgia. This SourceLab edition presents all 16 pages of the newsletter's 33rd issue. It includes sections on camp gossip, staff acknowledgments, recipes, safety suggestions, book recommendations, cartoons, and more. In addition to presenting the source, we provide contextual information on each page when necessary. This edition provides insight into life in a transient bureau camp through the immersive perspective of a transient community. Additionally, our presentation of the source aims to introduce readers to the histories of government policies, newsletter development, and homelessness during The Great Depression.
