The New Deal Disproved and Biden Must Reject David Riemer and June Hopkins Originally published on The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/531978-three-myths-about-unemployment As a new administration prepares to grapple with the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, three myths about unemployment continue to muddle the… read more
By June Hopkins and Stephen Seufert – 12/25/20 Originally published on The Hill https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/531042-donald-trump-the-anti-fdr In April 1932 Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt was running for president when the nation was in the depths of a devastating economic depression. He famously stated, “These… read more
Watch the recording for Art and Activism: Posters for Social Change, a Living New Deal online forum. Social movements historically have used posters to spread the word, build solidarity and demand change. During the New Deal, the WPA employed artists,… read more
“Lookee here, Mister, I jes an old colored woman, an I knows my place, an I wisht you wouldn’t walk wid me counta what folks might say.” The old woman saying this, Josephine Anderson, was formerly enslaved. It was October… read more
Sweet Land of Liberty As a child, singer Marian Anderson (1897-1993) showed remarkable talent, but she was turned away from the Philadelphia Music Academy because she was Black. Her church raised money for her to take private lessons. In 1939, the Daughters… read more
When FDR took office in 1933, of the 120 million acres of marsh and wetlands originally found in the US, only 30 million acres remained. The population of waterfowl had reached its lowest point in recorded history—approximately 27 million birds. … read more
By Betty Rivard, Charleston, WV Over 1500 documentary photographs were taken by ten professional photographers in West Virginia between 1934 and 1943. These photographs continue to be exhibited, published, and referenced in discussions to this day. Beginning in 2006, the West… read more
David Riemer and June Hopkins Previously published in The Hill. https://t`hehill.com/opinion/white-house/527275-fdrs-legacy-and-joe-bidens-greatest-challenge When Joe Biden gave his acceptance speech as president-elect, he referred to “FDR in 1932 — promising a beleaguered country a New Deal.” Biden and his backers have frequently compared the crises Roosevelt faced in… read more
President Roosevelt and his circle believed in the value of the public realm and public service, so they made government investment in public goods such as parks, schools and civic buildings a pillar of the New Deal. Along with its… read more
The cities were electrified; rural areas were not. A light went on when Nebraska Senator George Norris had an idea: Rural homes across the country should have greater access to electricity. Rural Americans weren’t being given a fair chance, Norris… read more