This is fascinating! The interview with Dr. Walker was great. I'd never heard of the CCC before this, to my great shame. It sounds like a great thing to be involved with ...
I love your obsession with the New Deal, Annette. It’s absolutely not misplaced. I had no idea so much of the infrastructure of California, the state I’ve called home for most of my life, was a result of FDR’s policies. My personal favorites are the incredible WPA murals in San Francisco’s Coit Tower, which we visit every time we stay in the city by the bay. I’m excited to learn about the Living New Deal. I just hope there’s a fix for the gargantuan potholes that threaten to engulf our small car every time we travel on the Pacific Coast Highway here in SoCal. We clearly need a NEW New Deal! I look forward to whatever you want to write about FDR or anything else!
Thanks so much, Ruth! Having bumped along Atlanta's dreadful roads, I hear you. :) I have never actually been up Coit Tower, so now I guess I need to go to see the murals! :)
This is great stuff. So much of the political polarization today can be traced back to vehement opposition to the New Deal by industrials who were INCENSED about being taxed to help fund the New Deal. Even today, some of the mission statements from Conservative think-tanks (Cato, Heritage, etc.) clearly state that their ideal is to go back to a PRE-New Deal America. It's fascinating.
There's a terrific book by Princeton historian Keven Kruse called ONE NATION UNDER GOD--HOW CORPORATE AMERICA INVENTED CHRISTIAN AMERICA. He charts how businessmen and religious leaders joined together in the 30s in opposition to FDR and the New Deal. Businessmen, of course, didn't believe their companies should be taxed in support of social programs. At the same time, they convinced religious leaders that the New Deal represented an existential threat to Christianity in America. After all, if the government helped the poor, sick, and destitute, they were effectively "replacing" the church and that had to be stopped at all costs. This union of corporations and conservative religious leaders has convinced generations of Americans that government is evil, unions are bad, and that all social programs (including SS and Medicate ) should be abolished lest we turn into godless socialists. We are now seeing the results of decades of this indoctrination from the coalition of conservative business and religious leaders. The book helped me understand why some of the poorest and most destitute in America continue to vote against their own interests. They've been hearing about the evils of government from their first childhood sermons and being anti-guv'mnt has been internalized as a major part of their religious identity.
Anyway, sorry to go off topic. It's wonderful to learn about The Living New Deal and its aims. Thanks for focusing on such an important and transformational era in American history!
Thanks for this, Vicky. Your comment is not off-topic, and Kruse, as you note, is an academic historian. NBH is non-partisan, but peer-reviewed academic history, like Kruse's book, is about the power of evidence. If other historians argue that Kruse's interpretation of evidence is off, they have to show why (I'm not a historian of the 20th century, and haven't read Kruse's book, but I do hope he also addresses the very real economic decline that has hit middle-class America, which means that more than perception is involved) As I always say, everyone is entitled to believe what they wish to, but one must at least consider on what one's beliefs are based. This is why I happily mingle with academic historians whose personal views range across the political spectrum: Believing in evidence and reason puts us on the same page, even though we often disagree with each other, and sometimes quite vehemently. This is also why I really loathe intolerance of diverse viewpoints: we can't have a discussion in which people are trying to silence each other, and our views can't develop and grow unless we consider alternative explanations. Why do I think this? Watch out for my posts on how I was taught, and by whom. Thanks again, and so glad you enjoyed this. Ooh, and don't miss Saturday's Nonnies-only post! I have a great story to tell as a follow up.
It's amazing how governments fail to recognise that the best way to stimulate and grow an economy is through good infrastructure and public projects. They provide employment, provide benefits for years to come, and in most western world countries the vast majority of materials used will be locally or nationally sourced avoiding imports. All of this stimulates the economy.
As long as the finances are well managed and 'mates rates' contracts are avoided, they provide the best value per dollar/pound spend there is.
Here in Britain we still benefit from some of the early altruistic industrialists who built schools, housing, hospitals, libraries, parks, theatres, and even entire towns for their workers. Many of these places are in use today. I don't have to go far before I see a Victorian school still in use.
My advice to anyone in government is to look back on history, learn from it and see what has really worked.
Now there's a pragmatic stance! Thank you, Roland. Even though the Victorians have been bashed, quite rightly, for all their "restoration" of parish churches, they did leave the UK with solid, distinctive architecture, and so much more, didn't they? Not to mention a sense of place that's missing from recent construction.
Thanks, Annette, for a very timely and necessary piece about the past and the economic value of building solid (made-to-last) infrastructure. You make me feel proud to be a Democrat and remind me why I am one.
Thank you, Don. You know I try to keep NBH non-partisan, so (a) You might say that. I couldn't possibly comment and (b) I'm going to have to write something about my Richard Nixon project for my students in California, for balance. 😂😂😂
Informative and interesting. Our family often camped in the Sierras and frequently found CCC camps near us. As I recall, the CCC crews were rooting out an evasive plant. It is not unusual for me to find something in your articles to which I can relate. Thanks, Annette.....and thanks to the geographers of the world who keep it real!
Joyce, that's awesome that you remember the CCC in action! Thank you so much for sharing that memory, and agree with you on the geographers. Geography was the only subject I took at school that conned me into enjoying sciencey things. :) We need to get you interviewed, too. :)
This is fascinating! The interview with Dr. Walker was great. I'd never heard of the CCC before this, to my great shame. It sounds like a great thing to be involved with ...
Thanks, Julia!
I love your obsession with the New Deal, Annette. It’s absolutely not misplaced. I had no idea so much of the infrastructure of California, the state I’ve called home for most of my life, was a result of FDR’s policies. My personal favorites are the incredible WPA murals in San Francisco’s Coit Tower, which we visit every time we stay in the city by the bay. I’m excited to learn about the Living New Deal. I just hope there’s a fix for the gargantuan potholes that threaten to engulf our small car every time we travel on the Pacific Coast Highway here in SoCal. We clearly need a NEW New Deal! I look forward to whatever you want to write about FDR or anything else!
Thanks so much, Ruth! Having bumped along Atlanta's dreadful roads, I hear you. :) I have never actually been up Coit Tower, so now I guess I need to go to see the murals! :)
This is great stuff. So much of the political polarization today can be traced back to vehement opposition to the New Deal by industrials who were INCENSED about being taxed to help fund the New Deal. Even today, some of the mission statements from Conservative think-tanks (Cato, Heritage, etc.) clearly state that their ideal is to go back to a PRE-New Deal America. It's fascinating.
There's a terrific book by Princeton historian Keven Kruse called ONE NATION UNDER GOD--HOW CORPORATE AMERICA INVENTED CHRISTIAN AMERICA. He charts how businessmen and religious leaders joined together in the 30s in opposition to FDR and the New Deal. Businessmen, of course, didn't believe their companies should be taxed in support of social programs. At the same time, they convinced religious leaders that the New Deal represented an existential threat to Christianity in America. After all, if the government helped the poor, sick, and destitute, they were effectively "replacing" the church and that had to be stopped at all costs. This union of corporations and conservative religious leaders has convinced generations of Americans that government is evil, unions are bad, and that all social programs (including SS and Medicate ) should be abolished lest we turn into godless socialists. We are now seeing the results of decades of this indoctrination from the coalition of conservative business and religious leaders. The book helped me understand why some of the poorest and most destitute in America continue to vote against their own interests. They've been hearing about the evils of government from their first childhood sermons and being anti-guv'mnt has been internalized as a major part of their religious identity.
Anyway, sorry to go off topic. It's wonderful to learn about The Living New Deal and its aims. Thanks for focusing on such an important and transformational era in American history!
Thanks for this, Vicky. Your comment is not off-topic, and Kruse, as you note, is an academic historian. NBH is non-partisan, but peer-reviewed academic history, like Kruse's book, is about the power of evidence. If other historians argue that Kruse's interpretation of evidence is off, they have to show why (I'm not a historian of the 20th century, and haven't read Kruse's book, but I do hope he also addresses the very real economic decline that has hit middle-class America, which means that more than perception is involved) As I always say, everyone is entitled to believe what they wish to, but one must at least consider on what one's beliefs are based. This is why I happily mingle with academic historians whose personal views range across the political spectrum: Believing in evidence and reason puts us on the same page, even though we often disagree with each other, and sometimes quite vehemently. This is also why I really loathe intolerance of diverse viewpoints: we can't have a discussion in which people are trying to silence each other, and our views can't develop and grow unless we consider alternative explanations. Why do I think this? Watch out for my posts on how I was taught, and by whom. Thanks again, and so glad you enjoyed this. Ooh, and don't miss Saturday's Nonnies-only post! I have a great story to tell as a follow up.
I loved this interview.
It's amazing how governments fail to recognise that the best way to stimulate and grow an economy is through good infrastructure and public projects. They provide employment, provide benefits for years to come, and in most western world countries the vast majority of materials used will be locally or nationally sourced avoiding imports. All of this stimulates the economy.
As long as the finances are well managed and 'mates rates' contracts are avoided, they provide the best value per dollar/pound spend there is.
Here in Britain we still benefit from some of the early altruistic industrialists who built schools, housing, hospitals, libraries, parks, theatres, and even entire towns for their workers. Many of these places are in use today. I don't have to go far before I see a Victorian school still in use.
My advice to anyone in government is to look back on history, learn from it and see what has really worked.
Now there's a pragmatic stance! Thank you, Roland. Even though the Victorians have been bashed, quite rightly, for all their "restoration" of parish churches, they did leave the UK with solid, distinctive architecture, and so much more, didn't they? Not to mention a sense of place that's missing from recent construction.
Good luck with that!
Ooh, noo! It went really well! Now I really must write about it! 😂😂
Thanks, Annette, for a very timely and necessary piece about the past and the economic value of building solid (made-to-last) infrastructure. You make me feel proud to be a Democrat and remind me why I am one.
Thank you, Don. You know I try to keep NBH non-partisan, so (a) You might say that. I couldn't possibly comment and (b) I'm going to have to write something about my Richard Nixon project for my students in California, for balance. 😂😂😂
Informative and interesting. Our family often camped in the Sierras and frequently found CCC camps near us. As I recall, the CCC crews were rooting out an evasive plant. It is not unusual for me to find something in your articles to which I can relate. Thanks, Annette.....and thanks to the geographers of the world who keep it real!
Joyce, that's awesome that you remember the CCC in action! Thank you so much for sharing that memory, and agree with you on the geographers. Geography was the only subject I took at school that conned me into enjoying sciencey things. :) We need to get you interviewed, too. :)