FDR's Resettlement Administration and the Greenbelt Towns

FDR's National Labor Relations Act and the Rise of the CIO

In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act, which guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. This episode explores the fierce battles that followed, from the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) under John L. Lewis to the sit-down strikes that paralyzed General Motors in 1937. We look at the role of Senator Robert F. Wagner, the opposition from business leaders and the Supreme Court, and the legacy of the Act in reshaping American labor. Along the way, we touch on the Little Steel Strike, the Memorial Day Massacre, and the rise of unions like the United Auto Workers. This was a transformative moment that pitted industrial workers against corporate giants, and it changed the balance of power in America forever. #NationalLaborRelationsAct #WagnerAct #JohnLLewis #CIO #CongressOfIndustrialOrganizations #SitDownStrike #GeneralMotors #UnitedAutoWorkers #RobertFWagner #LittleSteelStrike #MemorialDayMassacre #FrancesPerkins #NewDeal #LaborHistory #FDR #AmericanHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's WPA and the Fight for Unemployment Relief

In this episode of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained, hosts Lucas and Luna delve into the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the New Deal's largest jobs program. They explore how Harry Hopkins, FDR's close advisor, ran the agency from 1935 to 1943, putting millions of Americans to work on public projects. The conversation covers the political battles over relief versus work, the construction of iconic infrastructure like LaGuardia Airport and the Lincoln Tunnel, and the controversial 'leaf-raking' charges from Republicans. Lucas explains the WPA's rapid hiring process, its impact on unemployment, and the agency's eventual end as World War II mobilized the economy. This episode specifically focuses on the WPA's general relief efforts, not its arts projects or other specialized programs already covered. #WPA #WorksProgressAdministration #HarryHopkins #NewDeal #FDR #GreatDepression #UnemploymentRelief #LaGuardiaAirport #LincolnTunnel #PublicWorks #EmergencyReliefAppropriationAct #AlfLandon #RobertFechner #TheNightTheyInventedChampagne #History #FexingoHistory #1930s #NorthAmerica Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's National Housing Act and the Fight Against Slums

In 1937, the Wagner-Steagall Act created the United States Housing Authority, launching the nation's first large-scale public housing program. Listen as Lucas and Luna explore how New Dealers like Senator Robert Wagner, Representative Henry Steagall, and USHA head Nathan Straus battled real estate interests, overcome legal challenges, and built projects like the Jane Addams Houses in Chicago and the Williamsburg Houses in Brooklyn. Learn about the tensions between slum clearance and new construction, the role of local housing authorities, and how the program housed low-income families while reshaping American cities. This episode dives into a key but often overlooked piece of FDR's domestic agenda, connecting it to broader debates about government's role in providing decent housing for all citizens. #NewDeal #PublicHousing #WagnerSteagallAct #USHousingAuthority #NathanStraus #RobertWagner #HenrySteagall #SlumClearance #GreatDepression #FDR #HousingReform #JaneAddamsHouses #WilliamsburgHouses #CatherineBauer #HollenbeckHomes #USHA #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's Court-Packing Plan and the Supreme Court Fight

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched a stunning political gambit: the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill, better known as his court-packing plan. Stung by Supreme Court rulings that struck down key New Deal legislation, FDR proposed adding up to six new justices to the nine-member Court. This episode dives into the origins of the plan, the role of the 'Four Horsemen' — conservative justices Willis Van Devanter, James McReynolds, George Sutherland, and Pierce Butler — who blocked New Deal laws like the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act. We explore FDR's secret task force led by Attorney General Homer Cummings, the 'switch in time that saved nine' when Justice Owen Roberts began voting with the liberal wing in cases like West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, and the plan's ultimate defeat in Congress, led by Democratic Senator Burton Wheeler. The fight cost FDR political capital and damaged his New Deal coalition, but the Court began upholding New Deal legislation anyway. Join Lucas and Luna as they unpack this pivotal moment in American constitutional history. #FDR #NewDeal #CourtPacking #SupremeCourt #FourHorsemen #OwenRoberts #HomerCummings #BurtonWheeler #WestCoastHotel #Parrish #NIRA #AAA #SwitchInTime #1937 #ConstitutionalHistory #FexingoHistory #USHistory #FDRHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's Federal Writers' Project: The WPA Guides and American Identity

In this episode of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained, we explore the Federal Writers' Project, one of the most ambitious cultural programs of the New Deal. From 1935 to 1943, the FWP employed thousands of writers, editors, and researchers to produce the American Guide Series—a state-by-state collection of travel guides that captured America's local histories, folklore, and landscapes. We follow the project's director, Henry Alsberg, a journalist and playwright with a vision for documenting the nation's diversity. We also delve into the controversy: the Dies Committee accused the FWP of communist influence, leading to cuts and Alsberg's dismissal. The episode highlights specific guides, like the Washington, D.C. guide that featured a section on Black history by Sterling Brown, and the Florida guide that included Zora Neale Hurston's work. We discuss how the FWP preserved oral histories of former slaves and documented regional dialects, shaping American cultural identity. The episode also touches on the legacy of the FWP, which laid groundwork for later oral history projects. Join Lucas and Luna as they uncover the stories behind the words. #FederalWritersProject #HenryAlsberg #AmericanGuideSeries #WPA #FDR #NewDeal #SterlingBrown #ZoraNealeHurston #DiesCommittee #Folklore #OralHistory #GreatDepression #AmericanCulture #FexingoHistory #History #NorthAmerica #1930s #FederalOne Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]