---
title: "Resettlement Administration | US History 1865-Present"
description: "Resettlement Administration was a New Deal agency that moved struggling rural families, backed land reform, and addressed Dust Bowl hardship in U.S. history."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms/resettlement-administration"
type: "key-term"
subject: "US History – 1865 to Present"
unit: "Unit 7"
---

# Resettlement Administration | US History 1865-Present

## Definition

The Resettlement Administration was a New Deal agency created in 1935 to help struggling rural families relocate, improve farming conditions, and recover from Dust Bowl hardship in U.S. history.

## What It Is

The Resettlement Administration was a New Deal agency created in 1935 to respond to rural poverty during the Great Depression. In U.S. history from 1865 to the present, it shows how Franklin Roosevelt’s government tried to do more than hand out emergency relief. The RA aimed to move some farming families off exhausted, unproductive land and help them start over in places with better soil and stronger economic prospects.

That relocation idea came from a real crisis. The Great Depression hit farmers hard, and the Dust Bowl made things worse by stripping topsoil from parts of the Great Plains. Families in places like Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and nearby states faced ruined crops, debt, foreclosure, and dust storms that made survival feel impossible. The RA stepped into that world with a mix of practical aid and long-term planning.

The agency did not just move people and walk away. It also promoted better land management, soil conservation, and rural development. That meant encouraging farming practices that would protect the land instead of exhausting it, which connected the agency to broader New Deal reform goals. The RA treated rural distress as a policy problem, not just a personal failure, which is a big shift in how the federal government dealt with poverty.

The RA relocated more than 5,000 families, but it also faced criticism. Some people thought the relocation projects were too expensive, too slow, or too intrusive. Others argued that the government was trying to reshape farm life in ways that did not fit every family’s needs. That push and pull matters because it shows how New Deal programs often mixed relief with social planning, and not everyone agreed with the balance.

The agency also became known for documenting rural life through photography and writing. Those images and stories made the suffering of rural Americans visible to a wider public. So when you see the Resettlement Administration in this course, think of it as both a farm-relief program and a window into how the New Deal tried to respond to the human damage of the Depression.

## Why It Matters

The Resettlement Administration matters because it shows the New Deal expanding federal power into everyday life, especially for farmers and tenant families who were being crushed by debt, drought, and bad land. It connects the economic crisis of the 1930s to a bigger shift in American government: the idea that Washington could manage relief, recovery, and reform instead of leaving rural communities to handle disaster alone.

It also helps you see the difference between short-term aid and long-term change. The RA was not just handing out emergency support. It tried to solve deeper problems like soil depletion, poor farm income, and unstable rural settlement patterns. That makes it a useful example when you need to explain how New Deal programs worked in practice, not just what Roosevelt said they were supposed to do.

In essays and short-answer responses, the RA can support an argument about the Dust Bowl, the limits of New Deal reform, or the way federal policy changed after 1933. It is also a good example of how reform sometimes came with controversy, because critics worried about cost, government interference, and the uneven results of relocation programs.

## Connections

### New Deal

The Resettlement Administration was one part of Roosevelt’s wider New Deal response to the Great Depression. If the New Deal is the umbrella idea, the RA is a specific example of how the federal government tried to provide relief and reform at the same time. It shows that the New Deal was not only about jobs and banks, but also about rural poverty and farming.

### Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl created the environmental disaster that made the RA necessary for many families. Dust storms, crop failure, and soil erosion pushed people off their land and into poverty or migration. When you connect these two terms, you get a clearer picture of why the federal government began treating environmental damage as an economic and social crisis.

### Farm Security Administration

The RA was later replaced by the Farm Security Administration, so the two are closely linked in New Deal history. If you see them together, think of a shift from resettlement ideas toward broader support for tenant farmers, rural poverty relief, and agricultural rehabilitation. The FSA kept many of the same concerns but became the better-known agency in later New Deal policy.

### Federal Emergency Relief Administration

Both agencies were New Deal responses to Depression hardship, but they focused on different needs. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was more about direct emergency aid, while the Resettlement Administration focused on rural families, land use, and longer-term recovery. Comparing them helps you track how Roosevelt’s programs mixed immediate relief with structural reform.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz question or essay prompt might ask you to identify the Resettlement Administration as a New Deal agency and explain how it responded to rural suffering during the Dust Bowl. In a short response, connect it to the Great Depression, federal intervention, and agricultural reform instead of just listing the term.

If you get a document or photo set, the RA can show up through images of displaced farm families, soil erosion, or government efforts to resettle farmers. On a timeline or multiple-choice item, the safest move is to place it in the Roosevelt era and link it to relief and reform in the 1930s. If the prompt asks about limits of the New Deal, mention that the RA helped some families but did not solve rural poverty on a massive scale.

## Key Takeaways

- The Resettlement Administration was a New Deal agency created in 1935 to help rural families during the Great Depression.
- It tried to relocate some farmers from damaged or unproductive land to areas with better farming potential.
- The agency is closely tied to the Dust Bowl, since drought and soil erosion made life especially hard for many farm families.
- The RA also pushed land conservation and better rural planning, so it was about reform as well as relief.
- Its work shows how the New Deal expanded federal involvement in farming, poverty, and environmental recovery.

## FAQs

### What is the Resettlement Administration in US History?

The Resettlement Administration was a New Deal agency created in 1935 to help poor rural families relocate and recover from Depression-era hardship. It focused on farmers hurt by drought, debt, and the Dust Bowl, and it also supported soil conservation and rural reform.

### How did the Resettlement Administration respond to the Dust Bowl?

It tried to move some affected families to more productive land and reduce the damage caused by failed farms and exhausted soil. The agency also promoted better land management so future farming would be less destructive. That makes it a policy response to both environmental and economic disaster.

### Is the Resettlement Administration the same as the Farm Security Administration?

No, but they are closely related. The Resettlement Administration came first and later evolved into the Farm Security Administration. Both dealt with rural poverty, but the later agency is usually associated more strongly with long-term help for tenant farmers.

### Why does the Resettlement Administration matter in the New Deal?

It shows that the New Deal was not only about city jobs or banking reform. Roosevelt’s administration also tried to reshape rural life by helping farmers, improving land use, and responding to environmental collapse. That broadens your understanding of how the federal government reacted to the Depression.

## Related Study Guides

- [7.1 Roosevelt's New Deal Programs](/united-states-history-since-1865/unit-7/roosevelts-deal-programs/study-guide/01jt8F8QNU8vSxEm)

## About This Document

Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`.

- [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns
- [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing
- [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`)
- [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms/resettlement-administration#resource","name":"Resettlement Administration | US History 1865-Present","url":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms/resettlement-administration","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms/resettlement-administration#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:24:16.173Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"US History – 1865 to Present Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms/resettlement-administration#term","name":"Resettlement Administration","description":"The Resettlement Administration was a New Deal agency created in 1935 to help struggling rural families relocate, improve farming conditions, and recover from Dust Bowl hardship in U.S. history.","url":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms/resettlement-administration","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"US History – 1865 to Present Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the Resettlement Administration in US History?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The Resettlement Administration was a New Deal agency created in 1935 to help poor rural families relocate and recover from Depression-era hardship. It focused on farmers hurt by drought, debt, and the Dust Bowl, and it also supported soil conservation and rural reform."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How did the Resettlement Administration respond to the Dust Bowl?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It tried to move some affected families to more productive land and reduce the damage caused by failed farms and exhausted soil. The agency also promoted better land management so future farming would be less destructive. That makes it a policy response to both environmental and economic disaster."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is the Resettlement Administration the same as the Farm Security Administration?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, but they are closely related. The Resettlement Administration came first and later evolved into the Farm Security Administration. Both dealt with rural poverty, but the later agency is usually associated more strongly with long-term help for tenant farmers."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why does the Resettlement Administration matter in the New Deal?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It shows that the New Deal was not only about city jobs or banking reform. Roosevelt’s administration also tried to reshape rural life by helping farmers, improving land use, and responding to environmental collapse. That broadens your understanding of how the federal government reacted to the Depression."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"US History – 1865 to Present","item":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 7","item":"https://fiveable.me/united-states-history-since-1865/unit-7"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Resettlement Administration"}]}]}
```