The New Deal

This is the 75th anniversary of The New Deal, the economic program started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to counteract the depression in the U.S. The term came from Roosevelt's acceptance speech for his nomination for president in 1932, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people."

Following his inauguration on March 4, 1933, Roosevelt met with his advisors and started to create a number of government agencies designed to help America work its way out of a desperate economic situation. A few of these agencies were the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Public Works Administration (PWA), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).



We just added a colorful new book to our collection called The New Deal: A 75th Anniversary Celebration by Kathryn A. Flynn [973.917 FLY]. Besides being a fact-filled documentation of the period, it also is full of black and white and color photos, and illustrated posters that give a real feel for America in the 1930s.

Another way to explore the New Deal is on YouTube! Yes, there's a whole collection of short videos at the newdealtrail Channel. Or do a search at the main YouTube page for topics such as the dust bowl. You can't possibly watch the dust bowl video below without running your tongue over you teeth looking for the grit!



If you'd like to see the result of one of the New Deal's agencies' projects, we have Hands That Built New Hampshire: The Story of Granite State Craftsman, Past & Present compiled by Workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of New Hampshire [R 974.2 HAN]. This is from the chapter entitled "Spinning Wheel and Hand Loom":

A Windham woman, Agnes Hemphill, mother of eighteen children, set her ten daughters to spinning after her husband died. Each of the Hemphill girls had her own wheel upon which she spun yards of linen thread...