Federal Emergency Relief Administration

United States government agency

Also known as: FERA

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June 26, 2026

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The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a United States government agency established in 1933 during the Great Depression as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Its primary purpose was to provide direct financial aid to state and local relief agencies to help alleviate poverty and unemployment. FERA granted funds to these agencies, enabling them to assist millions of struggling Americans. This initiative was a crucial component of the New Deal's efforts to provide immediate relief and reform the economy.1

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Franklin D. Roosevelt
The Hundred Days
The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) granted funds to state relief agencies, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed hundreds of thousands of young men in reforestation and flood-control work. The Home Owners’ Refinancing Act provided mortgage relief for millions of unemployed Americans in danger of…
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The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) granted funds to state relief agencies, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed hundreds of thousands of young men in reforestation and flood-control work. The Home Owners’ Refinancing Act provided mortgage relief for millions of unemployed Americans in danger of…
Read More

United States
Relief
…12, 1933, Congress established a Federal Emergency Relief Administration to distribute half a billion dollars to state and local agencies. Roosevelt also created the Civil Works Administration, which by January 1934 was employing more than 4,000,000 men and women. Alarmed by rising costs, Roosevelt dismantled the CWA in 1934, but…
Read More
…12, 1933, Congress established a Federal Emergency Relief Administration to distribute half a billion dollars to state and local agencies. Roosevelt also created the Civil Works Administration, which by January 1934 was employing more than 4,000,000 men and women. Alarmed by rising costs, Roosevelt dismantled the CWA in 1934, but…
Read More