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MAY 2021
THE FIRST AND FINAL TASK
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 A social worker from Sioux City, Iowa, Harry Hopkins served as FDR’s personal advisor for the duration of his presidency. As head of New Deal relief, Hopkins worked tirelessly to provide jobs and assistance to millions of Americans struggling through the Great Depression. During World War II, Hopkins served as FDR’s envoy to the European Allies in the fight against fascism. At Hopkins memorial service in 1946, John Steinbeck reflected on Hopkins’ legacy of social justice: “Human welfare is the first and final task of government. There is no other."
As our nation struggles to regain its footing at home and abroad, infrastructure and diplomacy are again at the top the president’s agenda. Harry Hopkins remains a paragon of public service.
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By June Hopkins
For all his adult life, Hopkins worked as a public servant. Human welfare was always his priority – for Americans suffering deprivation during the Depression of the 1930s and then for people worldwide terrorized by expansionist and militaristic dictators during World War II. READ MORE
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 Where Public Art Went Live
By Sheila D. Collins and Gertrude Schaffner Goldberg
Congress funded the Federal Theatre Project primarily to provide economic relief. But WPA administrator Harry Hopkins and the FTP’s dynamic director Hallie Flanagan had a much broader mission: to create a publicly funded national theater, accessible to all, that would both entertain and strengthen public dialogue and democracy. READ MORE
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 A Living New Deal Webinar
"Reigniting the Spirit of the New Deal’s Federal
Writers’ Project"
Thursday, May 6, 2021, 5pm PDT (8pm EDT) via Zoom
The short-lived Federal Writers Project employed thousands of out-of-work writers, researchers, historians and librarians. Join Susan DeMasi, author of "Henry Alsberg, the Driving Force Behind the FWP;” writer David Kipen, who contributed to several reissued American Guides and Fern Nesson, photographer and collector of the American Guides. FREE. REGISTER
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 Mapping the New Deal in Washington, D.C.
Join Living New Deal Project Historian Brent McKee and Director Richard Walker for this webinar series to learn about how the New Deal transformed the nation’s capital and the Living New Deal's new "Map and Guide to the New Deal, Washington, D.C.," which features 500 New Deal sites, artworks and more.
"The New Deal in D.C.”
Host, George Washington University Museum
Monday, May 3, 12pm EDT
"The New Deal Parks of D.C."
Cohosts, the DC Preservation League and AIA-DC
Thursday, May 6, 2:30pm EDT
"A Virtual Walking Tour of New Deal Sites in D.C."
Host, Washington Walks
Wednesday, May 12, 12:30pm EDT
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 Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College and
The Living New Deal/NYC present
“ILL HOUSED: HOUSING POLICY FOR THE NEW DEAL
AND TODAY"
Monday, May 10, 6pm EDT via Zoom
America suffered an acute housing crisis during the Great Depression. How did the New Deal respond and what lessons can be taken from its successes and failures today?
Featuring Matthew Gordon Lasner, associate professor in the Department of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College; Dr. Jenny Schuetz, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and Dr. Deborah Gardner, Historian & Curator for Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. LEARN MORE/REGISTER
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Some links may limit access for nonsubscribers. Please support local journalism, if you can.
F.D.R. Didn’t Just Fix the Economy
He saved democracy itself.
By Jamille Bouie
The New York Times, April 16, 2021
Annals of Populism, Biden’s New Deal and the Future of Human Capital
The President introduced the first part of his economic program, involving airports and bridges. The second, which invests in "human infrastructure," could define his Administration.
By Benjamin Wallace-Wells
The New Yorker, April 15, 2021
FDR Took Down Giants. Biden Can, Too
Roosevelt’s choice to run the antitrust wing of the Justice Department, Robert Jackson, took just 14 months to change the country.
By Mark Pryor
The New York Times, March 29, 2021
The Civilian Climate Corps Jobs for Justice Act Explained
A new bill would bring back FDR’s famous New Deal program—with a few big changes.
By Kate Yoder
Grist, April 23, 2021
Descendants of FDR and His Cabinet Urge 'New Deal-Scale' Public Jobs Program
"Today's crisis of unemployment requires a federal response at least as bold as what was designed to pull America out of the Great Depression and usher in the New Deal.”
By Jake Johnson
Common Dreams, March 30, 2021
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"New conditions impose new requirements upon Government and those who conduct Government. Government must become a servant of those who had been exploited rather than the exploiters. When certain of its citizens are in trouble, it must come to their rescue; it must discipline public enemies; it must help those whose disadvantages could be removed only by general intervention."
— FDR, Commonwealth Club Address, September 23, 1932
In Case You Missed It
Despite partisanship and countless other obstacles, from his first day in office FDR insisted on “action and action now” to get America moving forward again.
Watch: FDR and the Role of President (5 minutes)
CBS Sunday Morning, May 10, 2020
YOUR DONATIONS KEEP THE NEW DEAL SPIRIT ALIVE.
The Living New Deal thanks you for your generous support!
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