Federal Writers' Project collection, Date acquired: 00/00/1991, bulk 1933-1938
Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- United States. Florida Works Progress Administration
- Florida Historical Society
- Abstract:
- The Federal Writers Project consists of selected records used to develop books and pamplets for the American Guide Series. The materials in this collection primarily document the experiences and lives of African Americans, many of whom had previously been enslaved, and includes interviews, typescripts, and other materials photocopied from a collection at the Florida Historical Society.
- Extent:
- 1.88 Linear Feet
- 5 boxes
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
Federal Writers' Project, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Background
- Scope and content:
Topics covered include religion and social life, customs and celebrations, civil rights and legal status, language and literature, education, folklore, music, and song. Other subjects include occupations, labor, and the Reconstruction era. Highlights of the collection include interviews with formerly enslaved African Americans in Florida conducted by field workers between 1935 and 1939.
- Biographical / historical:
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal program. The primary function of the WPA was to create jobs for the millions of Americans unemployed as a result of the Great Depression. Through a series of projects called Federal One, the WPA became the largest federal relief program, employing nearly one-third of the nation's jobless. WPA Projects included the Federal Arts Project, Federal Music Project, Federal Theater Project, and the Federal Writers' Project.
Originally intended for publication, the materials in this collection were generated by the Federal Writers' Project in an effort to document Florida folk life and culture. The oral history interviews, folktales, songs, and other ethnographic materials gathered by fieldworkers provide first-hand accounts of daily life in Florida during the Civil War era. Many of these accounts recorded the lives and experiences of African American residents who had prevously been enslaved in Florida and other southern states.
- Custodial history:
The Federal Writers' Project collection, previously referred to as the "Florida Negro Papers," is the property of the Florida Historical Society. In 1991, the Society gave permission to the USF Libraries Special Collections Department to photocopy the collection for the purpose of making it available to researchers.
- Processing information:
processed
This collection was reevaluated in 2021 to reflect Special Collections' conscious editing initiatives. After conducting the assessment, Special Collections personnel reprocessed and renamed the collection to more effectively reflect the content contained therein.
- Arrangement:
Alphabetically by subject and type of material.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
- The Florida Historical Society is the rightful owner of the original materials represented in this collection and retains its rights regarding publishing and credit ownership.
- Terms of access:
None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.
- Preferred citation:
Federal Writers' Project, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
- Location of this collection:
-
The University of South Florida, Tampa Campus4202 East Fowler Ave. LIB122TampaFL33620-5400USA
