The
Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 as the
Work Projects Administration;
WPA) was the largest and most ambitious American
New Deal agency, employing millions of unemployed people (mostly unskilled men) to carry out
public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. In a much smaller but more famous project,
Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects.