Abstract
The stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing depression resulted in the first attempts by the federal government to stimulate the economy on a massive scale at a time of economic collapse. President Hoover moved reluctantly in this area, but Franklin D. Roosevelt, although poorly grounded in economics, avidly applied Keynesian economic theory to an extent unacceptable to his Republican predecessor. The programs of the New Deal affected vast numbers of individuals and businesses, both large and small. The Tampa Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (T.S.&E.) founded by Ernest Kreher, a German immigrant, was among the latter. In 1932, while Hoover was still in office, Kreher attempted to acquire a federal loan to construct a much-needed dry dock in Tampa. Fully five years were to elapse before he completed his venture. His successes and failures illustrate how Roosevelt’s administration sought to implement programs to end the depression. The Tampa dry dock project is, moreover, a good case study of the adaptations in national legislation which are necessary to meet local needs and the flexibility of the New Deal in making such adaptations.
Recommended Citation
Lowry, Charles B.
(1973)
"The PWA in Tampa: A Case Study,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 52:
No.
4, Article 3.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol52/iss4/3
