Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2023/Fall/Section18/Mrs. Henry

Biography

Early Life

Women working in the sewing room for the WPA.

Mrs. Henry (first name not mentioned) was raised as the eldest daughter of three girls and four boys on a farm in Clarke County, Georgia. Her father had several sources of income; an overseer for a large farm, a basket weaver and he sold cattle he raised. Mrs. Henry and her sisters would sell about anything they could find and would use the money they earned to buy new clothes or any other item they wanted. They would attend Sunday school every Sunday and when Mrs. Henry was fourteen years old she joined Corinth Baptist Church where she was baptized in a creek nearby.

Adult Life

In regards of her husband, he was a preacher but he died while working at the electric plant, leaving her with four children, two girls and two boys. The electric plant company reimbursed her husband’s death with a total of $3,600 and gave her a job. She looked after their property on Tallassee Rd. in Athens, Georgia until the new plant was built and they put men in charge. Mrs. Henry and her kids continued to live on Tallassee Rd. after the fact. From December 1937 to March 1938, she was jobless until she went to the welfare office, and they gave her a job in the sewing room, her first job on the WPA. They eventually transferred her to a position that paid better, and she worked there for about 2 months until she was transferred to the Housekeeping Aid Project, which is where she was eventually promoted as its supervisor.

Social Context

Widows and Single Women in the 1930s

Widows and single women during the 1930s had to endure greater deals of problems than men. Many of these women were unable to find a job nor any source of income after being fired from their previous jobs which caused them to fall into homelessness. They were considered as the "New Poor" as these white middle class women lost their jobs, savings, and homes. "More than half of the women in the various surveys had never married; the others not living with husbands were divorced, deserted, separated, or claimed to be widowed. A great many seemed to have had dependent parents and siblings, a few had children, but most were thought to be single and unattached. All the women had been unemployed for long months, some for a year or more, had used up whatever savings and insurance they may have had, and could no longer call upon their informal networks of assistance," (Abelson, Elaine 2003, 110). However, despite the struggles that these women were facing, cites continued to ignore their needs for basic necessities. "With or without an accurate assessment of the situation, authorities in New York City and Chicago were forced by sheer numbers to acknowledge the existence of a large group of women who had lost their homes and to respond to their need for shelter," (Abelson, Elaine 2003, 115).

Women and the New Deal/WPA

During the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt created the policies of the New Deal, which served to provide relief for the poor and unemployed. A number of women during the Great Depression were able to take advantage of the programs under the New Deal, mainly through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA’s best known projects included federal artistic projects. In Federal Emergency Relief Administration Camps, women’s work mainly consisted of canning foods, sewing, producing clothes and mattresses, or working as housekeeping aid families in need of additional help. “But some women still needed to work, and work they did. While the economy was losing some jobs, in newer fields, such as the radio and telephone industries, job opportunities for women were actually expanding," (Lewis, Jone 2020). The New Deal opened up a number of doors for women, which included women earning government positions. "Although during the twenties women did increase their political activities, it was not until the early New Deal years that they were appointed to many positions for the first time, made important contributions to the planning and administration of social welfare programs, and took on larger roles within the Democratic Party," (Seeber, Frances 1990, 707).

Working Class Women During the Great Depression

Several women during the Great Depression not only had to uphold their household obligations, such as caring for the kids and maintaining cleanliness in the home, they also experienced increased pressure in providing income for the family. Some women had to step up and become the breadwinners of their family as their husbands lost their jobs. “The women who worked were working in response to their understanding of family need. Although they carried their economic role beyond the confines of their homes, their relationship between home, self, and job remained constant,” (Wandersee Bolin 1978, 74). However, women's jobs during the Great Depression were referred to as "women's work" and weren't paid as well as men's jobs were. Women now had to work, and care for their families all at the same time. “And jobs created under the Works Progress Administration confined women to fields like sewing and nursing that paid less than roles reserved for men," (Rotondi, Jessica 2019).

References

1. "Mrs.Henry," Interview by Sadie B Hornsby, Folder 192, the Federal Writers' Project papers #3709, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/03709/id/857/rec/1
2. Abelson, Elaine S. “‘Women Who Have No Men to Work for Them’: Gender and Homelessness in the Great Depression, 1930-1934.” Feminist Studies 29, no. 1 (2003): 105–27. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3178478.
3. Lewis, Jone Johnson. “The 1930s: Women’s Shifting Rights and Roles in United States.” ThoughtCo, January 29, 2020. https://www.thoughtco.com/womens-rights-1930s-4141164.
4. Seeber, Frances M. “Eleanor Roosevelt and Women in the New Deal: A Network of Friends.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 20, no. 4 (1990): 707–17. https://doi.org/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20700155.
5. Wandersee Bolin, Winifred D. “The Economics of Middle-Income Family Life: Working Women During the Great Depression.” The Journal of American History 65, no. 1 (June 1978): 66–74. https://doi.org/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1888142.
6. Rotondi, Jessica Pearce. “Underpaid, but Employed: How the Great Depression Affected Working Women.” History.com, March 11, 2019. https://www.history.com/news/working-women-great-depression.