JUNE 2020
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Help and Hope for Trying Times
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 FDR and his advisors knew that rebuilding the nation would require both reforming the economy and tending to the needs of struggling Americans. "We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure,” FDR said. He challenged Congress to enact an Economic Bill of Rights. The New Deal again has taken center stage, offering help and hope for these trying times.
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by Richard Walker
 The New Deal was not only successful in its time, but provides a model for today. As a nation we face a set of profound challenges comparable to the era of the Great Depression. We need an equally ambitious response by the federal government—the only entity with the power, money and scale to take charge.
READ MORE
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by Susan Ives
Construction on the Berkeley Rose Garden began in 1933. Hundreds of men employed by the Civil Works Administration and, later, the Works Progress Administration, worked for over four years building the garden. Since its dedication in 1937, the rose garden has been one of the city’s most cherished public spaces.
TOUR THE GARDEN
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“A Dust Bowl of Dog Soup: Picturing the Great Depression”
 WPA artists depicted everyday life of the Depression era. An exhibition at the Smith College Museum of Art was shuttered by the coronavirus but can be viewed online. This virtual tour features 50 photographs and prints from the museum’s permanent collection—and a 1930s sound track. WATCH
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 On May 19,1945, representatives of 50 nations gathered amidst ancient redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument to honor the memory of FDR, who died barely a month before. The delegates had come to San Francisco to write the charter for the United Nations, which Roosevelt and Churchill envisioned during the darkest days of WWII. READ MORE
The UN Association marks the 75th anniversary of the Charter, adopted on June 26, 1945. WATCH
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Roosevelt's New Deal offered hope in desperate times. We can do the same now.
His nation-building work programs are an unsurpassed example of what governments can do when markets collapse.
by Eric Rauchway
The Guardian, May 20, 2020
The Lessons of the Great Depression
In the 1930s, Americans responded to economic calamity by creating a richer and more equitable society. We can do it again.
By Lizabeth Cohen
The Atlantic, May 17, 2020
FDR and the Re-Creation of America
Black-and-white pictures from the Great Depression echo America in the COVID era. The virus is new; the struggle is not.
CBS Sunday Morning, May 10, 2020
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“People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
State of the Union Address, January 11, 1944
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WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
Please send stories, photos, comments, suggestions. The Living New Deal is grateful to be able to continue our work to make the New Deal a meaningful part of contemporary life. We appreciate your generous support during this challenging time. Thank you.
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