In Feb. 1939, the New Deal's Rural Electrification Admin. (REA) loaned money to help start the Verdigris Valley Electric Cooperative in Oklahoma.

The co-op is still operating today, providing affordable power to rural Oklahomans:

vvec.com

#History #Electricity

Some nights, to break up the monotony of grading, you go WPA project-hunting and find a nondescript rural bridge where the guy etched his name into the concrete.
Living New Deal

Eleanor Roosevelt at a dance at the Washington Labor Canteen in DC, February 1944.

Congressman Charles McKenzie (D-La) was 'shocked' and 'stunned' to see Whites dancing with Blacks.

Eleanor told him, essentially, to grow up (Assoc. Press, Feb. 17, 1944).

#History

Today, FDR & the New Deal are often scolded for not doing enough for African Americans, but southern newspapers denounced them for attacking segregation & white supremacy.

E.g., see this editorial excerpt from the Southern Watchman (Greensboro, AL), 6-26-1943, p. 4.

#History

I'm so honored that my #FDR book 'Taming the Street' was a finalist in the 2023 Living New Deal book awards! Kudos to the two co-winners, Brooke Blower and Janneken Smucker. For more about all the great finalists and winners: tinyurl.com/ybmhsxnp

Nellie Tayloe Ross was the longest-serving director of the U.S. Mint, 1933-1953, & an important figure in New Deal history.

See our brief biography of Ross here:

livingnewdeal.org/glossary/nelli…

(Image from Wikimedia.)

#history #women United States Mint

Across the U.S., the WPA offered free art classes for children, & also exhibited their art.

This gave unemployed artists a chance to earn some money, as teachers, & also helped develop creativity in children.

But many people thought the WPA was a waste of taxpayer money.

#art

'Blacksmith Shop, Nova Scotia,' a wood engraving print by Isaac Jacob Sanger (1899-1986), created while Sanger was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1936.

Image from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

#History #art #art ists

The New Deal provided funds for the construction of the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas, 1936-1937.

In later decades, the Coliseum would host concerts by Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, James Brown, The Doors, and many more.

#History #music American Music Landmarks Project 🏠🎶 Sheryl Davis, Music Landmarks Specialist

Our 2023 book award winners!

livingnewdeal.org/media-referenc…

And thanks to all the nominees for writing their books and adding to New Deal, FDR & related scholarship & history!

#History #books #BooksWorthReading BU History Janneken Smucker

The New Deal helped 100,000's of African Americans with WPA literacy courses; new education bldgs; & financial assistance from the NYA for high school, college, & graduate students.

What impact did these education projects have on the growing Civil Rights Movement?

#history

'Gravel Yards,' an oil painting by Gregory Orloff, created while he was in the New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934. (Smithsonian)

Orloff was born in Ukraine in 1890, worked as a book illustrator during much of his career, and died in Michigan in 1981.

#painting #art

The New Deal created the foundation of a good retirement: Social Security; union protections (thus, better wages, savings, & fixed pension plans); & the 30-yr. mortgage (more home ownership / equity).

Has trickle-down delivered the same?

cnn.com/2024/04/02/eco…

#retirement

A record # of renters can't afford a house:

npr.org/2024/01/25/122…

New Deal & FDR policies, e.g., unions (i.e., higher wages), infrastructure, G.I. Bill, & the 30-year mortgage, helped fuel a dramatic rise in home ownership post-WW2.

More New Deal & FDR please!

#History

The New Deal returned land to American Indians; created a CCC Indian Division; promoted Indian arts, crafts, & dance; improved healthcare; facilitated self-government; & shifted away from the dreaded boarding schools.

Have we picked up where the New Deal left off?

#history

If you like modern work benefits, e.g., a 40-hr work week, overtime pay, & retirement, you can thank, to a large degree, Sec. of Labor Frances Perkins & her 'Ladies' Brain Trust' - Clara Beyer, Mary Dewson, Mary La Dame, & Congresswoman Mary Norton.

#Labor #History #women

At the 1939 N.Y. World's Fair, the WPA had multicultural exhibits & performances.

Since the fair was billed as, 'The World of Tomorrow,' do you think the WPA was trying to teach or tell us something?

The value of multiculturalism:

accsc.ca/Blog/13205153

#History #NewYork

The New Deal created the Indian Arts & Crafts Board (IACB) in 1935 to promote Indian Art, & protect it from counterfeiting.

livingnewdeal.org/glossary/india…

The IACB also operates 3 museums: Sioux Indian Museum, Museum of the Plains Indian, & Southern Plains Indian Museum.

#museum

The WPA-built 'Knox County Crippled Children's Hospital' has grown into the large & modern East Tennessee Children's Hospital.

From the beginning, it has been racially and economically inclusive:

etch.com/about-us/histo…

etch.com/about-us/

#History #HealthcareForAll

'Island Dock Yard,' Karl Fortess, New Deal's Public Works of Art Project, 1934 (Smithsonian).

Fortess was born in 1907, was an artillery sergeant in WW2, fought at Normandy on D-Day, taught at Boston Univ. for 22 years, & died in 1993 (Poughkeepsie Journal, 7-14-93, p 2B).

#art