FDR's Federal Art Project: Art, Work, and the New Deal

FDR's Federal Art Project: Art, Work, and the New Deal

While the New Deal is often remembered for dams, bridges, and bank reforms, it also funded tens of thousands of paintings, sculptures, and posters. This episode explores the Federal Art Project, part of the Works Progress Administration, which employed over 10,000 artists during the Great Depression. Lucas and Luna discuss how the project aimed to make art accessible to all Americans, sparking both creativity and controversy. They delve into the work of artists like Jackson Pollock, who got his start on the FAP payroll, and explore the project's impact on American culture, from community art centers to the Index of American Design. The episode also touches on the political backlash, with charges of communist infiltration and 'boondoggling' that eventually led to the project's end in 1943. It's a story of how the government became a patron of the arts, and what that meant for a nation in crisis. #FDR #NewDeal #FederalArtProject #WPA #GreatDepression #PublicArt #JacksonPollock #HolgerCahill #AmericanArt #IndexOfAmericanDesign #CommunityArtCenter #1930s #ArtHistory #CulturalPolicy #FranklinRoosevelt #DepressionEra #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's Rural Electrification Administration: Power to the Countryside

Before the New Deal, most American farms had no electricity. In 1935, FDR created the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to bring power to the countryside. This episode explores how the REA overcame resistance from private utilities, helped farmers form cooperatives, and transformed rural life. We follow the story of Morris Llewellyn Cooke, the REA's first administrator, and John M. Carmody, who expanded the program. We'll look at the legal battle with Alabama Power, the impact on farm productivity and daily life, and how the REA's cooperative model shaped rural America for decades. Along the way, we discuss the political maneuvers and the quiet revolution that lit up the dark corners of the nation. #RuralElectrificationAdministration #REA #MorrisLlewellynCooke #JohnCarmody #NewDeal #FranklinDRoosevelt #ElectricCooperatives #AlabamaPower #Farmers #RuralAmerica #1930s #FDR #Cooperative #Electrification #TennesseeValleyAuthority #PublicPower #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's Unsung Hero: Marriner Eccles and the New Deal Economy

In this episode of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained, hosts Lucas and Luna explore the overlooked but crucial role of Marriner Eccles in shaping New Deal economic policy. From his early days as a Utah banker during the Great Depression to his appointment as Federal Reserve Board chairman in 1934, Eccles challenged laissez-faire orthodoxy and championed deficit spending, wage growth, and consumer purchasing power as keys to recovery. Lucas recounts how Eccles' radical ideas influenced the Banking Act of 1935, which restructured the Federal Reserve and centralized power in Washington. The episode also delves into Eccles' bitter feud with Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. over fiscal policy, and his ultimate vindication as Keynesian economics gained traction. Listeners will gain a fresh perspective on the internal battles within FDR's administration and the intellectual foundations of the modern American economy. #MarrinerEccles #NewDeal #FranklinRoosevelt #FederalReserve #BankingAct1935 #KeynesianEconomics #DeficitSpending #GreatDepression #UtahBanker #HenryMorgenthau #FiscalPolicy #CentralBanking #USHistory #EconomicHistory #FDRAdministration #FexingoHistory #Podcast #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's Dust Bowl Resettlement and the Nation's Refugee Crisis

In episode 159, Lucas and Luna explore one of the most overlooked crises of the New Deal: the Dust Bowl refugee crisis and the federal government's halting efforts to resettle displaced farmers. They focus on the Resettlement Administration's controversial camps for migrants in California, the rivalry with the Farm Security Administration, and the role of figures like Dorothea Lange and John Steinbeck in documenting the exodus. The episode also delves into the political backlash against resettlement, the fight over land use policy, and the long-term impact on American agriculture. Specific topics include the drought of 1934, the Taylor Grazing Act, the Klamath River dam controversy, and the legacy of the 'Okie' migration. #DustBowl #ResettlementAdministration #FarmSecurityAdministration #DorotheaLange #JohnSteinbeck #OkieMigration #TaylorGrazingAct #California #NewDeal #FDR #MigrantCamps #SoilErosion #Drought #GreatDepression #AgriculturalPolicy #KlamathRiver #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's National Housing Act and the FHA Revolution

In 1934, the US housing market was in shambles—half of all home mortgages were in default, and homeownership was a dream out of reach for most Americans. Enter the National Housing Act, which created the Federal Housing Administration and transformed how Americans buy homes. But the FHA didn't just insure loans; it redlined entire neighborhoods, codified racial segregation in housing, and set the stage for the white suburban exodus. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the FHA's origins, its bold mortgage insurance program, the creation of Fannie Mae, and the darker legacy of redlining that persists today. They discuss key figures like FDR, Senator Robert F. Wagner, and the appraisers who drew the color-coded maps. It's a story of innovation and injustice—the New Deal's gamble on homeownership. #FDR #NewDeal #FederalHousingAdministration #NationalHousingAct1934 #FHA #Redlining #FannieMae #HomeOwnership #GreatDepression #HousingPolicy #Segregation #Suburbia #RobertFWagner #StewartMcDonald #NorthAmerica #History #FexingoHistory #USHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]