New Deal, The: A 75th Anniversary Celebration
The New Deal was a group of programs initiated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to help Americans recover during the Great Depression (193343). Programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Works Progress Administration gave hope, support, and encouragement to millions of Americans in their time of most desperate need. Several New Deal programs, including Social Security, continue to enrich our lives today. ≈The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,² stated a confident Roosevelt, and the country took him at his word. In many ways, Americaˇs New Deal brought out the best in us.Under the guidance of President Roosevelt, the New Deal:€ Oversaw the planting of 3 billion trees, the construction of over 46,000 bridges, and the restoration of 360 Civil War battlefields € Created or nurtured over 30 symphonic orchestras, including those in San Francisco, Boston, Cleveland, and Chicago €  Provided new homes and towns for thousands of impoverished Americans € Built thousands of notable public buildings and facilities, including Hoover Dam, the Triborough Bridge, the gold bullion depository at Fort Knox, and Shenandoah National Parkˇs Skyline Drive € Offered support and encouragement to such writers as John Steinbeck, Ralph Ellison, Studs Terkel, John Cheever, Stetson Kennedy, and Eudora Welty € Provided work for thousands of artists whose creations grace many of our public buildings today € Launched the photographic careers of Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Walker Evans, and Ben ShahnKathryn A. Flynn is Executive Director of the National New Deal Preservation Association. She is the author of Treasures on New Mexico Trails: New Deal Art and Public Artists in New Mexico. She lives in Santa Fe.Richard Polese is the author of Discovering Dixie: The Magnolia Trail Travel Guide to the Deep South and coauthor of Passions in Print: Private Press Artistry in New Mexico. He lives in Santa Fe.