United States. Farm Security Administration

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The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was established within the United States Department of Agriculture to implement the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Tenant Act of 1937. The agency also took over certain functions of its predecessor, the Resettlement Administration (RA). The FSA made available and administered long-term loans to tenants and sharecroppers, loaned funds to rural cooperatives, and operated camps for migrant farm workers. The FSA was abolished in 1946; the Farmers Home Administration (FHA) continued its work. The Resettlement Administration, an independent agency, was created by executive order on April 30, 1935. Among its many duties, the RA directed rural rehabilitation, resettlement projects, and the operation of migrant farm worker camps. The RA had been given responsibility for relief programs previously administered by the Emergency Relief Administration and the Department of the Interior's Subsistence Homestead Division. Local aid to farm tenants under the RA consisted of relocation, loans, and experimental community farming. The FSA's activities in Montana consisted of resettlement and irrigation projects intended to aid farming and ranching, or to increase the production of existing farms and ranches in areas where the rural economy was in crisis. Many of these projects were undertaken through the provisions of the Wheeler-Case Act of 1940, whereby the secretary of agriculture was given the responsibility for land acquisition, development, and settlement of irrigation projects. However, it was the responsibility of the secretary of the interior to transmit any recommendations for the construction of projects under the Act. the FSA also administered projects under the wartime Food for Victory program. The FSA accomplished its projects with the help of other federal and state agencies, including the Departmet of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service and Bureau of Agricultural Economics; the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation; the Public Works Administration; and the Montana State Water Conservation Board.

From the guide to the U.S. Farm Security Administration Records, 1928-1956, (Montana Historical Society Archives)

Biographical History

Born in the Bronx, New York in 1911, Robert Sonkin was an educator, ethnographic researcher, and author. A graduate of the City College of New York and Columbia University, Sonkin taught at the Department of Public Speaking at City College from 1929 to 1976. In the late 1930s, he worked with Charles L. Todd, his colleague at the Department of Public Speaking, to document the experience of residents of the FSA migrant worker camps in California in 1940 and 1941. In the summer of 1941, using money granted by City College of New York to document Americana, Sonkin traveled to Shell Pile, New Jersey, and Gee's Bend, Alabama to record the religious music and personal reflections of African Americans living in those communities. In Gee's Bend, Sonkin also recorded conversations about the FSA projects that were being undertaken there. During World War II, he worked with the Archive of American Folk Song to document popular reactions to America's involvement in the war, and served in the Army Signal Corps. In the late 1970s, he again collaborated with Todd to produce the book Alexander Bryan Johnson: Philosophical Banker . He is also the author of The Voice and Speech Handbook . He died in New York in 1980.

From the guide to the Robert Sonkin Alabama and New Jersey Collection, 1937-1941, 1941, (Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.home)
Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Farm Security Administration Collection, 1935-1945. University of Mississippi
referencedIn Lord, Bert, 1869-1939. Bert Lord papers, 1902-1939. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Soule, Frederick R. Typed letter signed : San Francisco, to John Fischer, 1938 Feb. 28. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Bledsoe, Ruth. Telegram : Washington DC, to Pare Lorentz, 1938 Apr. 7. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Lorentz, Pare. Telegram : New York, to Gardiner Cowles, 1938 Mar. 14. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Vachon, John, 1914-1975. John Vachon papers, 1913-1995 (bulk 1935-1959). Library of Congress
creatorOf Lange, Dorothea. Migrant agricultural workers in California in 1935 [ -1939] : prints and photos / photographed by Dorothea Lange for the U.S. Resettlement Administration. California State University, Fresno, Henry Madden Library
referencedIn Richard Keith Doud papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Kentucky. Dept. for Environmental Protection. Division of Water. Official correspondence-Director, Bureau of Sanitary Engineering, 1911-1957. Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives, Kentucky State Archives
referencedIn Marshall, Frederick L., 1906-1985. Papers, 1837-1966. Saint Cloud State University
referencedIn Arthur Rothstein Papers, 1936-2000, (bulk 1952-1985) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969. Photographs by Ben Shahn, 1930-1960 (inclusive). Harvard University Art Museum
referencedIn Lorentz, Pare. Carbon copy of typed letter : Los Gatos, to John Steinbeck, 1938 Mar. 1. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Defense areas designated for FSA reports : [Tennessee]. Tennessee State Library & Archives, TSLA
referencedIn Forrest, Suzanne, 1926-. Suzanne de Borhegyi Forrest research papers : photocopies, 1934-1942. New Mexico State Library
referencedIn Liessman, Charles, 1878-1963. Charles and Viola Liessman papers, 1909-1961. State Historical Society of North Dakota State Archives
referencedIn Minnesota. Division of Forestry. Pine Island settler relocation and development project records, 1936-1954. Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts
referencedIn Slaughter, R. L., Jr. (Robert Lee), 1892-1969. Papers, 1922-1960, (bulks 1938-1956). Texas Tech University Libraries, Academic Library
creatorOf United States. Farm Security Administration. "I wonder where we can go now" : a million odd migrant farm workers and their families ask, but nobody has the answer : underemployed, underfed, they are a national problem -- most crucial in California. Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries
referencedIn Biography: Melvyn Douglas, 1972-1980 Indiana University, Bloomington. Center for the Study of History and Memory
referencedIn Hudgens, Robert Watts, 1896-1973. Reminiscences of Robert Watts Hudgens : oral history, 1954. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Jack Delano Papers, 1927-1995, (bulk 1941-1943) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Robert Lee Slaughter Papers, S 932. 1., 1921-1960 and undated Southwest Collection/Special Collections Libary, Texas Tech University
referencedIn Cowell, Sidney Robertson, 1903-1995. Sidney Robertson Cowell collection, 1901-1992 (bulk 1936-1990). Library of Congress
referencedIn Brylawski, Henry, 1913-. My war, 2010 May. Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington
creatorOf Robert Sonkin Alabama and New Jersey Collection, 1937-1941, 1941 Archive of Folk Culture (U.S.)
referencedIn Lee, Russell, 1903-1986. Russell Lee papers, 1903-[ongoing] (bulk 1936-1965). Texas State University-San Marcos, Albert B. Alkek Library
referencedIn Crow, Charles B. (Charles Brandon), 1897-1955. Papers, 1920-1949. Alabama Department of Archives and History
referencedIn Hewes, Laurence Ilsley, 1902-. Papers, 1942-1974. Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
creatorOf Delano, Jack. Photograph collection. New Jersey Farm Administration / photographed by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. Trenton Free Public Library
referencedIn Lorentz, Pare. Pare Lorentz papers, 1914-1994 [Bulk Dates: 1932-1960]. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf U.S. Farm Security Administration Records, 1928-1956 Montana Historical Society Archives
referencedIn Delano, Jack. Jack Delano : Artist File. International Center of Photography
referencedIn Mydans, Carl. Carl Mydans photographs, 1935-1968. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Long, Frank J., 1910- . Frank and Hildred Long papers, 1868-1977 (bulk 1938-1942). Minnesota Historical Society Library
referencedIn Huffman, Roy E. (Roy Elwood). Roy E. Huffman papers, 1923-1990. Montana State University (Bozeman, Mont.). Library
referencedIn New York State College of Agriculture. Department of Rural Sociology. New York State College of Agriculture. Dept. of Rural Sociology surveys, 1938-1966. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Wilson, M. L. (Milburn Lincoln), 1885-1969. Reminiscences of Milburn Lincoln Wilson : oral history, 1956. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Baldwin, Calvin Benham, 1902-1975. Papers of C.B. Baldwin, 1933-1975. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Sanora Babb Papers circa 1840s-2006 (bulk 1928-2005) Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Delano, Jack. Farm Security Administration (Collection) [picture]. University of New Mexico-Main Campus
referencedIn Packard, Walter E. (Walter Eugene), 1884-1966. Walter Eugene Packard papers, 1894-1966. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn William John Green Papers, 1912-1982 Hoover Institution Archives
creatorOf North Carolina State University. Office of Religious Affairs. North Carolina State University, Division of Student Affairs, Office of Religious Affairs records, 1903-1993 [manuscript] North Carolina State University, NCSU Libraries
referencedIn Bert Lord papers, 1902-1939. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
referencedIn Robert E. Burke collection, 1892-1994 University of Washington Libraries Special Collections
referencedIn John M. Fox papers, 1938-1958 University of Washington Libraries Special Collections
referencedIn Franklin Wills Hancock, Jr., Papers, 1930-1968 East Carolina University. J.Y. Joyner Library
referencedIn Ford, Frederick W., 1909-1986,. Oral history interview with Frederick Wayne Ford, 1978. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Tolan, John H. (John Harvey), 1877-1947. John Harvey Tolan photograph collection [graphic]. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Baasch, Hans H. Biographical information, 1964? Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Edom, Clifton C. (Clifton Cedric), 1907-1991. Edom, Clifton C. and Vilia C., collection, 1872-2006 (bulk 1932-2006) University of Texas Libraries
creatorOf Ferriss, Hugh, 1889-1962. Migrant Town, Woodville, Calif. [graphic] / Hugh Ferriss. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Caufield, John H. Migration to nowhere : FSA labor camps in south Texas mark breakdown of small farm system / by John H. Caufield. Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries
referencedIn Lansill, John Scott, 1895-1976. John Scott Lansill papers, 1922-1940 1935-1940. University of Kentucky Libraries
referencedIn Southern Conference for Human Welfare/Educational Fund, 1982-1983 Indiana University, Bloomington. Center for the Study of History and Memory
referencedIn Russell Lee Photograph Collection, 1938-1942 University of Arizona Libraries, Library Special Collections
referencedIn Anderson, Tom. Francine Carraro / Eric Weller "Retracing Russell Lee" Project Collection, 1991-1993. Texas State University-San Marcos, Albert B. Alkek Library
referencedIn Couch, William T. (William Terry), 1901-1988. Reminiscences of William Terry Couch : oral history, 1970. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn New York State College of Agriculture. Dept. of Rural Sociology surveys, 1938-1966. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
referencedIn A Collection of photographs from the U.S. Farm Security Administration and the U.S. Office of War Information, 1930-1945. University of California, Los Angeles
referencedIn Francine Carraro / Eric Weller “Retracing Russell Lee” Project Collection, 1991-1993 Southwestern Writers Collection, Special Collections, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos
referencedIn Green, William John, 1892-. William John Green papers, 1912-1982. Stanford University, Hoover Institution Library
referencedIn Stoney, George C. George C. Stoney papers, 1940-2009. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
creatorOf United States. Farm Security Administration. Farm Security Administration printed materials [194-]. Boulder Public Library
creatorOf Sears, Mary A. Mary A. Sears collection of photographs pertaining to the Agricultural Workers Health and Medical Association in California [graphic]. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Sidney Robertson Cowell Collection, 1901-1992, (bulk 1936-1990) Library of Congress. Music Division
referencedIn Russell Lee Papers, 1903-1992 (Bulk: 1936-1965) Southwestern Writers Collection, Special Collections, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos
referencedIn Bankhead, John Hollis, 1872-1946. Papers, 1880-1947 and n.d. Alabama Department of Archives and History
referencedIn Weinerman, E. Richard (Edwin Richard), 1917-1970. Edwin Richard Weinerman papers, 1908-1970 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn Marta Weigle Collection, 1946-1999 Fray Angélico Chávez History Library, New Mexico History Museum.
referencedIn Vernon DeMars collection, 1933-2005 Environmental Design Archives
referencedIn Evans, Walker, 1903-1975. Walker Evans photographs, 1935-1936. Duke University Libraries, Duke University Library; Perkins Library
referencedIn Lange, Dorothea. Dorothea Lange : the making of a documentary photographer. Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Alexander, Will Winton, 1884-1956. Oral history interview with Will Winton Alexander, 1952. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Frank and Hildred Long papers., 1868-1977 (bulk 1938-1942). Minnesota Historical Society
creatorOf United States. Farm Security Administration. Migrant farm labor : the problem and ways of meeting it. Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries
referencedIn Roth, Raymond F. Raymond F. Roth papers, 1936-1977, bulk 1940-1966. University of California, Davis, Shields Library
referencedIn Raymond F. Roth Papers, 1936-1977, (bulk 1940-1966) University of California, Davis. General Library. . Dept. of Special Collections
creatorOf United States. Farm Security Administration. Farm Security Administration photographs. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library
creatorOf Ferriss, Hugh, 1889-1962. Migrant town, Yuba City, Calif. [graphic]. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Weigle, Marta. Marta Weigle Collection, 1946-1999. Museum of New Mexico Library
creatorOf Boren, Lyle H. (Lyle Hagler), 1909-1992. Papers, 1885-1946, bulk 1933-1946. University of Oklahoma, Bizzell Memorial Library
referencedIn Neprud, Marion C., 1897-1965. Papers, 1914-1966. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Eckbo, Garrett. Garrett Eckbo collection, 1933-1990. California Digital Library
referencedIn Brannan, Charles F. (Charles Franklin), 1903-1992. Reminiscences of Charles Franklin Brannan : oral history, 1953. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Shields, Robert Hazen, 1905-. Reminiscences of Robert Hazen Shields : oral history, 1954. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Bankhead, William Brockman, 1874-1940. Papers, 1875-1952 and n.d. Alabama Department of Archives and History
referencedIn United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Records of the Rehabilitation Division. National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration
referencedIn Edwin Richard Weinerman papers, 1908-1970 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf United States. Farm Security Administration. Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana photographs, 1939-1942. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Parisius, Herbert W., 1895-. Reminiscences of Herbert W. Parisius : oral history, 1954. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-. Papers, 1938-[ongoing]. University of Arizona Libraries
referencedIn John Vachon Papers, 1913-1995, (bulk 1935-1959) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Oral history interview with C. B. (Calvin Benhan) Baldwin Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Walker Evans Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with John Collier Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Jonathan Daniels Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Gordon Parks Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Romana Javitz Archives of American Art

Filters:

Connection Graph Radial Graph
Relation Name
associatedWith Alexander, Will Winton, 1884-1956. person
associatedWith Archive of Folk Song (U.S.) corporateBody
associatedWith Baasch, Hans H. person
associatedWith Babb, Sanora, 1907-2005 person
associatedWith Baldwin, Calvin Benham, 1902-1975. person
associatedWith Bankhead, John Hollis, 1872-1946. person
associatedWith Bankhead, William Brockman, 1874-1940. person
associatedWith Bert, Lord 1869-1939. person
associatedWith Bledsoe, Ruth. person
associatedWith Boren, Lyle H. (Lyle Hagler), 1909-1992. person
associatedWith Boulder Daily Camera. corporateBody
associatedWith Brannan, Charles F. (Charles Franklin), 1903-1992. person
associatedWith Brylawski, Henry, 1913- person
associatedWith Burke, Robert E. (Robert Eugene), 1921-1998 person
associatedWith Carraro, Francine person
associatedWith Caufield, John H. person
associatedWith Colley, Nathaniel Sextus, 1918- person
associatedWith Collier, John, 1913- person
associatedWith Couch, William T. (William Terry), 1901-1988. person
associatedWith Cowell, Sidney Robertson, 1903-1995. person
associatedWith Crow, Charles B. (Charles Brandon), 1897-1955. person
associatedWith Daniels, Jonathan, 1902-1981. person
associatedWith Delano, Jack. person
associatedWith Delano, Jack. person
associatedWith DeMars, Vernon, 1908-2005 person
associatedWith Doud, Richard Keith. person
associatedWith Eckbo, Garrett. person
associatedWith Edom, Clifton C. (Clifton Cedric), 1907-1991 person
associatedWith Environmental Design Archives corporateBody
associatedWith Evans, Walker, 1903-1975. person
associatedWith Ferriss, Hugh, 1889-1962. person
associatedWith Ford, Frederick W., 1909-1986, person
associatedWith Forrest, Suzanne, 1926- person
associatedWith Fox, John M., 1902-1978 person
associatedWith Gaston, Alice, interviewee. person
associatedWith Green, William John, 1892- person
associatedWith Hancock, Frank W. (Franklin Wills), 1894-1969. person
associatedWith Hewes, Laurence Ilsley, 1902- person
associatedWith Hudgens, Robert Watts, 1896-1973. person
associatedWith Huffman, Roy E. (Roy Elwood) person
associatedWith Indiana University Center for the Study of History and Memory corporateBody
associatedWith Javitz, Romana, 1903-1980. person
associatedWith Kentucky. Dept. for Environmental Protection. Division of Water. corporateBody
associatedWith Lange, Dorothea. person
associatedWith Lansill, John Scott, 1895-1976. person
associatedWith Lee, Russell person
associatedWith Lee, Russell, 1903-1986. person
associatedWith Liessman, Charles, 1878-1963. person
associatedWith Long, Frank J., 1910- . person
associatedWith Lord, Bert, 1869-1939. person
associatedWith Lorentz, Pare. person
associatedWith Marshall, Frederick L., 1906-1985. person
associatedWith Minnesota. Division of Forestry. corporateBody
associatedWith Moseley, Isom, interviewee. person
associatedWith Mydans, Carl. person
associatedWith Neprud, Marion C., 1897-1965. person
associatedWith New York State College of Agriculture. Department of Rural Sociology. corporateBody
associatedWith New York State College of Agriculture. Dept. of Rural Sociology. corporateBody
associatedWith North Carolina State University. Office of Religious Affairs. corporateBody
associatedWith Packard, Walter E. (Walter Eugene), 1884-1966. person
associatedWith Parisius, Herbert W., 1895- person
associatedWith Parks, Gordon, 1912-2006. person
associatedWith Roth, Raymond F. person
associatedWith Roth, Raymond F. person
associatedWith Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, person
associatedWith Sears, Mary A. person
associatedWith Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969. person
associatedWith Shields, Robert Hazen, 1905- person
associatedWith Slaughter, R. L., Jr. (Robert Lee), 1892-1969. person
associatedWith Slaughter, Robert Lee, 1892-1969 person
associatedWith Sonkin, Robert, 1910-1980 person
associatedWith Soule, Frederick R. person
associatedWith Stoney, George C. person
associatedWith Tolan, John H. (John Harvey), 1877-1947. person
associatedWith United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs. corporateBody
associatedWith Vachon, John, 1914-1975. person
associatedWith Weigle, Marta. person
associatedWith Weigle, Marta, 1944- person
associatedWith Weinerman, E. Richard (Edwin Richard), 1917-1970. person
associatedWith Weller, Eric person
associatedWith Wilson, M. L. (Milburn Lincoln), 1885-1969. person
associatedWith Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Shell Pile (N.J.)
South Dakota
United States
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Gee's Bend (Ala.)
Wisconsin--Superior
Wisconsin
Subject
Slavery
African American families
African American farmers
African American gospel singers
African American gospel singers
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
African American school children
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture and state
Blues (Music)
Cherry industry
Depressions
Documentary photography
Farmers
Farm life
Field recordings
Field recordings
Field recordings
Folk songs, English
Folk songs, English
Freedmen
Gospel music
Gospel music
Grain elevators
Hymns, English
Irrigation
Irrigation districts
Jubilee singers
Traditional medicine
Migrant agricultural laborers
Minority farmers
Montana
Oil wells
Railroads
Range management
Rural schools
School children
Sharecropping
Slave narratives
Soil conservation
Spirituals (Songs)
Occupation
Activity

Corporate Body

Active 1885

Active 1946

Americans

English

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