The Federal Art Project: FDR's Vision for American Culture

FDR's Gold Reserve Act and the End of the Gold Standard

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt took the United States off the gold standard, a move that reshaped the American economy and the global monetary system. This episode of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained dives into the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, the devaluation of the dollar, and the controversial gold confiscation of 1933. Lucas and Luna explore the role of key figures like Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr., economist George Warren, and Senator Carter Glass, who fiercely opposed leaving gold. They discuss the impact on farmers, debtors, and the banking system, as well as the Supreme Court cases that upheld the abrogation of gold clauses. From Roosevelt's secret gold-buying program to the creation of the Exchange Stabilization Fund, this episode reveals how FDR's monetary policies sought to end deflation and empower the executive branch over monetary policy. A must-listen for anyone curious about the intersection of economics, politics, and presidential power during the New Deal. #FDR #NewDeal #GoldStandard #GoldReserveAct #MonetaryPolicy #HenryMorgenthauJr #GeorgeWarren #CarterGlass #SupremeCourt #GoldClauseCases #PerryVUnitedStates #ExchangeStabilizationFund #Devaluation #1933BankingCrisis #ExecutiveOrder6102 #GoldConfiscation #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR and the Battle Over Bank Deposit Insurance

Before the FDIC, bank failures meant depositors lost everything. This episode explores the fight over deposit insurance in FDR's early New Deal—a battle between populists who wanted full coverage and bankers who called it socialism. We meet the Glass-Steagall Act's banking reforms, the temporary Emergency Banking Act's 100% guarantee, and the permanent FDIC's $5,000 limit. We discuss opposition from FDR himself, who disliked the idea, and the role of Senator Arthur Vandenberg, a Republican who crossed party lines. The episode also covers the 1933 banking holiday, the role of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and how deposit insurance changed American banking forever. We touch on the ideological divide between Wall Street and Main Street, the influence of the Pecora hearings, and the legacy of the FDIC in preventing bank runs. #FDIC #GlassSteagallAct #BankDepositInsurance #FDR #NewDeal #BankingHoliday1933 #ArthurVandenberg #PecoraHearings #ReconstructionFinanceCorporation #EmergencyBankingAct #SenatorCarterGlass #BankFailures #GreatDepression #AmericanHistory #FinancialReform #History #FexingoHistory #NorthAmerica Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's Federal Housing Administration and the Suburban Revolution

In this episode of Fexingo History, Lucas and Luna explore Franklin Roosevelt's Federal Housing Administration, created in 1934 under the National Housing Act. They discuss how the FHA revolutionized homeownership by insuring mortgages, making 30-year loans standard, and limiting down payments. But they also delve into the controversial practice of redlining—how the agency's underwriting guidelines explicitly excluded minority neighborhoods, codifying segregation in housing for decades. The conversation covers the role of FHA economist Homer Hoyt, whose theories on neighborhood stability racialized suburbia, and the long-term impact on wealth disparities, including the birth of the white flight phenomenon. This episode connects the New Deal's housing policies to the creation of modern American suburbs and the racial wealth gap that persists today. #FHA #NewDeal #Redlining #FederalHousingAdministration #HomerHoyt #NationalHousingAct #Suburbanization #HousingSegregation #WhiteFlight #FDR #1930s #AmericanHistory #UrbanHistory #RacialWealthGap #Homeownership #MortgageInsurance #GreatDepression #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR and the Railroad Brotherhoods: Labor Peace and Its Price

In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt faced a crisis that pitted his New Deal coalition against itself. The nation's railroads, still reeling from the Depression, were threatened by a massive strike from the most powerful unions of the era—the Railroad Brotherhoods. This episode explores FDR's intervention, the resulting Washington Agreement, and the uneasy truce between labor peace and worker autonomy. We look at the role of Joseph B. Eastman, the Federal Coordinator of Transportation, and the bitter debate over the six-hour day. How did FDR's pragmatic deal-making shape labor relations for decades? And what did it cost the very workers he claimed to champion? #FDR #NewDeal #RailroadBrotherhoods #WashingtonAgreement #JosephEastman #sixhourday #laborhistory #1937 #railroads #GreatDepression #FexingoHistory #USHistory #NorthAmerica #FDRlabor #strike #unionhistory #History #FDRNewDeal Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

FDR's Federal Writers' Project: Documenting America

In this episode of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal Explained, Lucas and Luna explore the Federal Writers' Project, a New Deal program that put thousands of unemployed writers, journalists, and scholars to work documenting America's stories. They follow the creation of the American Guide Series — detailed guidebooks covering every state — and the project's efforts to capture oral histories, folklore, and the voices of everyday people, including formerly enslaved individuals through the Slave Narratives collection. The conversation touches on the project's director, Henry Alsberg, the controversial state guide to Florida, and the political battles over funding and content. They also discuss the legacy of the project for American letters, including its role in launching the careers of writers like Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright. Along the way, they reflect on the tensions between art and propaganda, and how the FWP navigated accusations of leftist bias during the height of the New Deal. #FederalWritersProject #AmericanGuideSeries #HenryAlsberg #ZoraNealeHurston #RichardWright #SlaveNarratives #WPA #NewDeal #FDR #GreatDepression #OralHistory #Folklore #AmericanLiterature #StateGuides #FloridaGuide #WorksProgressAdministration #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]