Poster warning about the danger of drunk driving.Library of Congress
2 of 29
Poster promoting New York's municipal airports.Library of Congress
3 of 29
Poster promoting safety in the workplace.Library of Congress
4 of 29
Poster for the Illinois WPA Safety Division promoting safety in the workplace.Library of Congress
5 of 29
Poster for the United States Travel Bureau promoting tourism.Library of Congress
6 of 29
Poster for United States Travel Bureau promoting travel to Montana.Library of Congress
7 of 29
Poster promoting the Philadelphia Zoo.Library of Congress
8 of 29
Poster promoting proper child care.Library of Congress
9 of 29
Poster for the July 4th celebration at the DuPage County Centennial in Downers Grove, Illinois.Library of Congress
10 of 29
Poster promoting the Adler Planetarium, operated by Chicago Park District.Library of Congress
11 of 29
Poster promoting Yellowstone National Park.Library of Congress
12 of 29
Poster for the Cleveland Division of Health encouraging dog bite victims to report dog bites to the proper authorities.Library of Congress
13 of 29
Poster promoting better housing as a solution for high rates of infant mortality in the slums.Library of Congress
14 of 29
Poster opposing rumors and gossip.Library of Congress
15 of 29
Poster for treatment of syphilis, showing an anchor and a cross.Library of Congress
16 of 29
Poster for Federal Art Project Photography Division exhibition.Library of Congress
17 of 29
Poster promoting the aquarium in Fairmount Park as a place to visit.Library of Congress
18 of 29
Poster promoting education and civic activity, showing two columns of penguins, six on the left, eight on the right.Library of Congress
19 of 29
Poster for treatment of syphilis, showing an anchor and a cross.Library of Congress
20 of 29
Poster for the National Park Service.Library of Congress
21 of 29
WPA poster promoting book clubs.Library of Congress
22 of 29
Poster promoting good oral hygiene, showing stylized face, toothbrush, and toothpaste.Library of Congress
23 of 29
Poster announcing opportunity for the public to attend free programs, such as movies, concerts, exhibits, and tours, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Library of Congress
24 of 29
Poster for an exhibition of children's art in Chicago, Illinois.Library of Congress
25 of 29
Poster promoting Sea Cliff, Long Island for tourism, showing buildings of the New York World's Fair.Library of Congress
26 of 29
Poster for a Federal Art Project exhibition of the Index of American Design.Library of Congress
27 of 29
Poster recommending eye examinations for children having difficulty learning.Library of Congress
28 of 29
Poster for the Tenement House Department of the City of New York advising that tenement house residents keep their fire escapes free of obstructions.Library of Congress
Stunning New Deal WPA Posters That Helped Lift America Out Of The Great Depression
View Gallery
On March 4, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became president of the United States, and inherited one of the worst economies in American history.
The U.S. was in the throes of the Great Depression, an enormous economic collapse that left most Americans struggling just to get by. At its nadir, as many as one in four Americans was out of work.
Yet, for this great problem, President Roosevelt had a great solution. Within his first 100 days in office, he began pushing legislation through Congress that would come to be known as the New Deal. This initiative encompassed a wide variety of government programs that set out to provide relief for the impoverished and create jobs for the unemployed.
One of the ways in which the New Deal set out to accomplish this was through the Works Progress Administration, or WPA, a vast government agency that, at its peak, employed 3.3 million people. This vast workforce was put to work on thousands of public works projects throughout the country.
Along with manual laborers, the WPA also hired artists and writers to create public art projects and promote the WPA cause. These included a huge number of WPA posters created to promote public works and positive economic habits during these rough economic times.
In the midst of a depression, these beautiful art deco WPA posters were shining bastions of positivity and hope. They encouraged Americans to, among other things, eat healthy, stimulate the economy, and work hard.
Via these WPA posters, the government was able to successfully promote their projects and ideas, and drove Americans to spend money despite the deep depression. Thus, the WPA — along with the renewed need for manufacturing during World War II, of course — helped to lift the United States out of the Great Depression.
WPA posters like those in the gallery above were an essential part of the effort.
Gabe Paoletti is a New York City-based writer and a former Editorial Intern at All That's Interesting. He holds a Bachelor's in English from Fordham University.
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
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Cite This Article
Paoletti, Gabe. "Stunning New Deal WPA Posters That Helped Lift America Out Of The Great Depression." AllThatsInteresting.com, August 20, 2017, https://allthatsinteresting.com/wpa-posters. Accessed February 22, 2025.
