Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the New Deal..

We are a non-profit group of volunteers across the country who are inspired by the leadership and legacy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the projects that raised America from despair to hope and renewal.

March, 2008 marks the 75th anniversary of the New Deal legacy.  We are planning events across America, in Washington, DC and hopefully state by state.  Please join us in celebrating this nation's living history: a time of crisis and transformation that still continues to influence and enrich many aspects of our lives.

In 1933 and 1934, FDR's immediate goal was to put the "forgotten man" and his family back to work. Our organizational goal and mission today is identified above to help the public---the forgotten man's family members—to become more aware of how FDR achieved his goal.

For those who survived the Depression, and for those of us who know only the pages in history books, here is a look back at the crisis years.

By Inauguration Day, March 4, 1933, the nation was deep into the Great Depression.

Banks in thirty-two of the forty-eight states had closed.

The day before FDR's inaugural, the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading indefinitely.

Less than half of the workforce was employed full time.

Over three years suicide rates had tripled.

"Brother Can You Spare a Dime" was tops on the pop charts.  Bing Crosby's 1932 recording became the country's anthem to despair.

Some respect pundits feared that democracy was finished.  The new path to save America might be dictatorship, strong leadership like that of Mussolini in Italy or even the other rising fascist in Germany.  Perhaps communism, Russian-style wan an answer.

"...the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…"

It is the most quoted phrase in FDR's Inaugural Address. Later in that thrilling speech he set this urgent agenda for his new administration.

"This Nation asks for action," said FDR, "and action now. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work."

Innovation. Compassion. Empowerment.  And the courage to change.  These became the hallmarks of the    President's First 100 Days and the months following.

The CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) began on March 31, 1933 just days after FDR was inaugurated.  WPA (Works Progress Administration), the umbrella name for construction and various federally funded arts and culture programs, began in 1935.

These and other "alphabet soup" agencies are gone, but they have left the country green and glorious. Three billion trees planted.  Twenty million acres saved from erosion. Eight hundred state parks developed is just a small sample.

New public buildings were constructed—post offices, libraries, schools and more—their magnificent murals designed as public art for everyday people. Steady wages not only helped put bread on the table, freedom from hunger resulted in a body of bold and spirited works that still define our land and people.

We are a richer nation for the artists, writers, architects and environmentalists ho were offered pay and dignity in a climate of hope.  During a dehumanizing Depression, there ensued an era of amazing creativity that we celebrate as the 75th anniversary nears.

For more information about these and later, major New Deal projects—stock market reform to Social Security—please click on the topics listed on the left side of this website.  We invite your support of the celebration and the ongoing search for still undiscovered New Deal treasures.

--The National New Deal Preservation Board of Directors

Check out NewDeal75.org for more info on the upcoming celebration!