Subsistence Homesteads Division

Subsistence Homesteads Division, Department of the Interior
Agency overview
FormedAugust 23, 1933 (1933-08-23)
DissolvedMay 15, 1935
Superseding agency
Agency executive
Parent agencyUnited States Department of the Interior
Websitehttps://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/096.html

The Subsistence Homesteads Division (or Division of Subsistence Homesteads, SHD or DSH) of the United States Department of the Interior was a New Deal agency that was intended to relieve industrial workers and struggling farmers from complete dependence on factory or agricultural work.[1] The program was created to provide low-rent homesteads, including a home and small plots of land that would allow people to sustain themselves. Through the program, 34 communities were built.[2] Unlike subsistence farming, subsistence homesteading is based on a family member or members having part-time, paid employment.[3] However the new residents were not allowed to purchase the new homes.

  1. ^ "Recent Developments in Subsistence-Homesteads Movement". Monthly Labor Review. 38 (2): 245–253. 1934. ISSN 0098-1818. JSTOR 41814203.
  2. ^ "RESETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION". Archived from the original on 2013-05-24. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  3. ^ Borsodi, Ralph (January 1934). "Subsistence Homesteads, President Roosevelt's New Land and Population Policy". Survey Graphic, Magazine of Social Interpretation. 23 (1): 11. Retrieved 2012-03-03.