Capturing the Past On June 19, 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation establishing a “National Archives of the United States Government.” It was the culmination of decades of congressional debate on the issue of national records preservation.The new agency began… read more
Rewriting America The New Deal’s Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), begun in 1935, employed more than 10,000 out-of work writers, editors, art critics, researchers and historians. Women made up forty percent of the workforce, including as state directors. It hired now-renowned… read more
When the Dust Settled On April 14, 1935, known as “Black Sunday,” a dark cloud roiled the Great Plains. The dust storm carried 300 million tons of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas east to the Atlantic Ocean. A decade-long drought, overgrazing… read more
Winning Back a Lost Generation As the Great Depression deepened and families fell into poverty, many young people left home to fend for themselves. Youth unemployment spiraled to 30 percent. For many, finding work meant quitting school. Some saw… read more
FEAR ITSELF On March 4, 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in as the 32nd president of the United States. He had won in a landslide over the Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover. Millions tuned in to hear a live… read more
The New Deal Turns 90 The nation was spiraling into the worst economic crisis in its history when presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt pledged “a new deal for the American people.” Upon taking office in 1933, FDR launched an all-out… read more
The Eye of the Beholder The Federal Art Project (FAP), (1935-1943), provided jobs to 10,000 struggling artists. They created thousands of artworks, including roughly 2,500 murals that adorn many public buildings—city halls, schools, post offices—to this day. The FAP… read more
ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH ADVERSITY FDR was 39 years old when he was stricken with polio in 1921. Back then, people with disabilities were considered weak and unemployable. FDR’s opponents sought to exploit his inability to walk as a political vulnerability. He… read more
ART FOR ALL The idea behind the federal art programs was to provide work for struggling artists and foster the role of the arts in public life. Between 1933 and 1943, New Deal artists produced thousands of paintings, sculptures, prints,… read more
The Lungs of Our Land In 1937, in a letter to the nation’s governors, President Franklin Roosevelt wrote: “Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”Forests played a major part in… read more