Temporary Emergency Relief Administration

Temporary Emergency Relief Administration. It was the first state-level public welfare agency in the United States created specifically to combat the mass unemployment and destitution of the Great Depression. Established in 1931 by an act of the New York State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, it served as a direct model for the federal New Deal relief programs that would follow. The agency's innovative approach to providing direct aid and work relief fundamentally altered the relationship between state government and its citizens during an economic crisis.

Background and establishment

The catalyst for its creation was the catastrophic unemployment following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which devastated industrial cities like Buffalo and New York City. Prior to this, relief for the poor was primarily the domain of private charities and local county governments, a system completely overwhelmed by the scale of the Depression. Influenced by the recommendations of the New York State Governor's Commission on Unemployment, Governor Roosevelt called a special session of the legislature in the fall of 1931. The enabling legislation, known as the Wicks Act, passed with bipartisan support, appropriating $20 million in state funds and marking a historic shift toward state responsibility for economic security.

Organization and administration

The agency was structured with a central board in Albany overseeing county-level Public Welfare bureaus, ensuring a coordinated statewide effort while allowing local implementation. Roosevelt appointed Jesse Isidor Straus, president of Macy's, as the first chairman, lending business credibility to the endeavor. The pivotal operational role of Executive Director was given to Harry L. Hopkins, a seasoned social worker from New York City who would later architect the federal Works Progress Administration. This administrative model, blending central oversight with local control, was later emulated by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration under President Roosevelt.

Programs and relief efforts

Its primary mission was to provide aid through two parallel channels: direct home relief in the form of cash, food, and fuel grants for unemployable individuals, and a pioneering work relief program for the able-bodied unemployed. Work projects were deliberately designed to avoid competition with the private sector and included improving state parks, building airport facilities, and repairing rural roads. The agency also provided crucial support to local school districts to keep them open and funded emergency shelters, influencing later federal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps and Public Works Administration.

Impact and legacy

Its most significant immediate impact was preventing widespread starvation and social unrest, demonstrating that government intervention could stabilize a crisis. By the time it was phased out in 1937, it had provided assistance to nearly one in ten families in New York and served as the proving ground for the policies and personnel of the New Deal. The administrative experience gained by Hopkins and others was directly transferred to Washington, D.C., shaping the national response. Furthermore, it established the precedent for the modern American welfare state and influenced the creation of the national Social Security Act of 1935.

Criticism and challenges

The agency faced significant opposition from fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party and some business leaders who viewed its programs as wasteful and a dangerous expansion of government power. Administrative challenges included preventing fraud, determining equitable levels of aid across diverse counties, and managing tensions with local political machines like Tammany Hall. Critics also argued that work relief wages undercut private employment, a debate that would continue with the Works Progress Administration. Despite these challenges, its success in New York made it a compelling national model during the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Category:Defunct New York (state) agencies Category:Great Depression in the United States Category:1931 establishments in New York (state) Category:1937 disestablishments in New York (state)