New Deal Acts & Programs

Between 1933 and the late 1940s, dozens of federal and state programs reshaped Montana’s cultural, ecological, and economic landscape. This encyclopedia provides clear, accessible summaries of each major act and agency—what it did, why it mattered, and how it changed Montana’s land, communities, and governance.

Each entry includes:

Founding legislation & dates
Purpose and national context
Montana-specific impacts
Key projects, metrics, and legacies
Connections to related programs

Program Categories

Economic Stabilization & Agricultural Programs

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
Commodity Credit Corporation (credit agency)
Farm Credit Administration (FCA)
Production Credit Association (PCA)
Bankhead–Jones Farm Tenant Act
Soil Conservation & Domestic Allotment Act
Emergency Drought Relief Programs (1934)
State Water Conservation Board (Montana)

Public Works & Infrastructure

Public Works Administration (PWA)
Works Progress/Projects Administration (WPA)
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Civil Works Administration (CWA)
Bureau of Public Roads / Public Roads Administration
Army Corps of Engineers
Bureau of Reclamation
State Water Conservation Board (Montana)

Conservation, Grazing, & Land Management

Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
Taylor Grazing Act (1934)
Montana Grass Conservation Act (1939)
Shelterbelt Project
Resettlement Administration / Farm Security Administration (RA/FSA)
Conservation Districts (1937 onward)

Forests, Fire, & Wildlife

Clarke–McNary Act (1924)
Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act (1934)
Pittman–Robertson Act (1937)
Duck Stamp Act (1934)
Bald Eagle Protection Act (1940)
Forest Service Fire Policy (“10 a.m. policy,” smokejumpers, aerial detection)

Rural Electrification & Modernization

Rural Electrification Administration (REA)
Rural Electrification Act (1936)
Electric Home & Farm Authority

Housing, Credit, & Social Welfare

Home Owners’ Loan Act (HOLC)
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
U.S. Housing Authority (USHA)
Social Security Act (1935)
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Arts, Culture, & Public Records

Federal Project Number One (FAP, FMP, FWP, FTP, HRS)
Treasury Section of Fine Arts
Treasury Relief Art Project
National Archives & Records Administration (NARA)
Historic Sites Act (1935)

Indian Affairs & Territorial Programs

Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)
CCC‑ID (Indian Division)
Indian Emergency Conservation Work (IECW)
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA)
Virgin Islands Company

Defense, Transportation, & Communications

Communications Act (FCC)
Civil Aeronautics Act
Export–Import Bank
Public Buildings Administration
Federal Works Agency

Major Program Entries

Below are the fully developed encyclopedia entries for the major New Deal programs. Each one has been preserved exactly as written, but structured for clarity and navigation.