 The nation was roiling from fear and discontent laid bare by the Great Depression. On the morning of FDR’s inauguration, March 4, 1933, Washington was braced for violence. Elected in a landslide, Roosevelt promised to make people’s lives better. They deserved a New Deal, he had said. But a faction of bankers and businessmen opposed to government spending to help those struggling hatched a plot to overthrow the new president. Had the coup succeeded, the New Deal—and the idea that a government exists to give all people the chance for a better life— would have ended before it had even begun.
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By Gray Brechin
That the American press largely ignored an attempt to forcibly overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt only months after his inauguration in 1933 seems less extraordinary in light of the right-wing media’s efforts to dismiss a far more serious—and televised—coup attempt on January 6, 2021. The plot against FDR might well have succeeded had a retired Major General not blown the whistle on it. READ MORE
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 A Cornerstone for Conservation
By Jennifer McLerran
Laying the cornerstone for the massive Department of the Interior Building, which Roosevelt described as “symbolical of the Nation’s vast resources that we are sworn to protect,” he expressed his wish that its construction represents the founding of “a conservation policy that will guarantee to future Americans the richness of their heritage.” That heritage is reflected in building’s many murals by Native American artists. READ MORE
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 Wednesday, February 18, 8pm EST (5pm PST)
"How the New Deal Helped America Join the Fight Against Fascism and Win World War II”
Living New Deal New York Chapter
Writer Kevin Baker and historian Robert Leighninger explore the connection between the Depression and preparation for war. New Deal programs to combat the Great Depression also provided the personnel, infrastructure, and experience that enabled the country to quickly respond to the expansionist aims of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Free. REGISTER
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THE LIVING NEW DEAL WEBINAR SERIES 2022
"The Art of the New Deal"
T hursday, February 24, 5pm PST
“A New Deal for Native Art”
With Dr. Jennifer McLerran, author of A New Deal for Native Art: Indian Arts and Federal Policy, 1933–1943 and A New Deal for Navajo Weaving—Reform and Revival of Dine Textiles, to be published in May.
The New Deal promoted indigenous arts and crafts as a means of bootstrapping Native American artists. But New Deal administrators' romanticization of indigenous arts predisposed them to favor traditional over contemporary artistic expression. Free. REGISTER
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 Thursday, March 17, 5pm PDT
“Los Tres Grandes—Mexican Muralists’ Influence on the Artists of the WPA”
With Harold Porcher, Director of Modern & Post-War Art at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. Post-revolution art in Mexico wielded strong influence over American artists. Many who drew inspiration from Mexican muralists went on to work for the WPA’s artist programs. Free. REGISTER
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 Friday, April 22, 5pm PDT
“Art and Intersections: The Harlem Renaissance Meets the New Deal”
With Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson. Dr. Johnson is on the faculty of the Visual and Public Art Department at Cal State, Monterey Bay.
The Harlem Renaissance may be best known for its literary and performing arts, but visual artists were key contributors as well, planting artistic seeds that would germinate for decades. Many participated in the WPA's Federal Art Project (1935–1943), and its key legacy—art centers including the Harlem Community Art Center that nourished the Civil Rights and the Black Arts Movement. Free. REGISTER
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 Thursday, May 19, 5pm PDT
“New Deal Photography Through the Lens of Arthur Rothstein”
With Dr. Annie Rothstein Segan, Director of the Arthur Rothstein Legacy Project, New York.
At age 20, New York photographer Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) began documenting the Great Depression. His many images for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) depict stories of struggle that persist today. Free. REGISTER
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Some links may limit access for nonsubscribers. Please support local journalism, if you can.
Biden Didn’t Have the Power or Luck to Become FDR
Comparing his challenges to those FDR faced during the New Deal, Biden told CNN last month. “I think people are realizing, ‘My Lord, look at what is possible,’ looking at the institutional changes we can make, without us becoming a ‘socialist country’ or any of that malarkey.”
By Ed Kilgore
New York Magazine, January 22, 2022
Why Biden’s Agenda Brings Him Closer to LBJ than FDR
President Biden’s decision to prioritize the goals of his party’s activist base over voters’ more immediate concerns is reminiscent of Great Society programs that ended an era of Democratic dominance.
By Nate Cohen
New York Times, January 21, 2022
When a National Unity Government Really Worked — And Why It Can’t Happen Now
FDR reached across the aisle to form a governing coalition. Today’s polarization makes that impossible.
By Jeff Greenfield
Politico, January 15, 2022
Francis Perkins Helped Deliver a New Deal to Americans
FDR’s Labor Secretary Frances Perkins is mostly known as the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, but her role was far greater. She was arguably one of the most important and successful progressive politicians, male or female, in U.S. history.
By Kirstin Downey
The Free Lance-Star, January 17, 2022
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“There is nothing so American as our national parks... The fundamental idea behind the parks is native. It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
In Case You Missed It
“Necessitous Men Are Not Free Men”
John Ruskin (1819-1900) and The Ethical Language of the New Deal
With Dr. Gray Brechin, January 27, 2022, Los Angeles Ruskin Art Club
Born of means, Ruskin never had to earn a living. Nonetheless, he carved out a prolific career of writing, lecturing, curating and campaigning for social causes.
WATCH VIDEO: 1 hour
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