American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA : When FDR Put the Nation to Work (58 page)

Unemployed Citizens League: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 251. Philadelphia appeals, protests:
NYT,
Aug. 5, 1932, 2; Aug. 26, 1932, 7.

Marion Stull:
NYT,
Aug. 23, 1932, 12; Sept. 3, 1932, 28. In Elizabeth, N.J.:
NYT,
Oct. 1, 1932, 20. In Copper Hill, Tenn.:
NYT,
Apr. 28, 1932, 41.

George Bratt:
NYT,
Feb. 13, 1932, 14.

Willard quoted in Schlesinger, vol. 1, 181.

Keller: ibid., 250.

Brooklyn “holdup”:
NYT,
Nov. 29, 1932, 10.

8. T
HE
G
UNS OF
D
EARBORN

Accounts of the deadly riot at the Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, on Mar. 7, 1932, are included in many depression-era histories. I rely on reports in the
NYT
of Mar. 8, 1932, 1; N.Y.
Daily News,
Mar. 8, 1932, 2;
New York Herald Tribune,
Mar. 8, 1932, 1;
NYT,
Mar. 9, 1932, 3. Also mentioned in Manchester, 10–11 and 26; descriptions of the Ford plant contained in Watkins,
Hungry Years,
5–8, and the riot, 127–30; McElvaine,
The Great Depression,
92–93. Brief description of the riot and the workers’ funeral contained in Dickson and Allen, 52–53.

9. T
HE
B
ONUS
M
ARCH

Descriptions of the Bonus March by veterans seeking immediate payment of deferred compensation voted them by Congress are also staples of depression histories. The fullest account to date is contained in a book devoted entirely to the Bonus March and the events surrounding it. This is Dickson and Allen’s
The Bonus Army: An American Epic,
published in 2004, which mentions Hoover’s meeting with Amelia Earhart on 136. Schlesinger, vol. 1, 257–65, also contains an excellent account of the Bonus March. Other book mentions include Manchester, 3–4 and 10–18; Kennedy, 92; Leuchtenberg,
FDR,
13–16; Black, 240–42 and 281; McElvaine,
The Great Depression,
93–94. See also newspaper accounts in the
New York Herald Tribune,
July 29, 1932, 1; N.Y.
Daily News,
July 29, 1932, 1 and 3;
NYT,
July 29, 1932, 1 ff.

10. R
OOSEVELT ONTO THE
S
TAGE

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s personal and political history leading to the presidential campaign of 1932 is well-chronicled in Schlesinger, vol. 1. See Black on Roosevelt’s service to and enthusiasm for Wilson (60–65) and return to Madison Square Garden to nominate Smith after polio (164). See also Leuchtenberg, Burns, Kennedy, Manchester, and Caro on Al Smith. While there are dozens of other sources, the above are my primary references, along with texts of Roosevelt’s campaign speeches available online. Specifically, the probable beginning of the Roosevelt campaign for the nomination is set in January or February 1931 by Frank C. Walker, who attended a meeting referred to in his autobiography edited by Robert H. Ferrell, 58. Walker, 55–56, is also illuminating on the rift between Roosevelt and Al Smith.

11. T
HE
B
ATTLE
I
S
J
OINED

The Democratic convention that nominated Roosevelt is covered in detail in Schlesinger, vol. 1, 296–314; Leuchtenberg,
FDR,
7–10; Burns, 134–40; and Black, 230–39. These are my primary sources as to atmosphere and maneuvering. Roosevelt’s acceptance speech:
NYT,
July 3, 1932, 8.

12. A N
EW
D
IRECTION

Stock market figures: New York Stock Exchange Web site: www.nyse.com/about/history/timeline_trading.htm. Meeting of mayors:
NYT,
June 2, 1932, 1. Detroit emergency rations:
NYT,
Apr. 26, 1932, 42. New York relief payments: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 250. Fully half of Chicago’s workers: ibid., 250.

Nationally, only a fourth: ibid., 249.

Creation of Reconstruction Finance Corporation: Kennedy, 84–85. “Millionaire’s dole”: ibid., 85. RFC loans to states and cities: Watkins,
Hungry Years,
102. Hoover, Curtis, cabinet pay cut:
NYT,
July 16, 1932, 1. Savings of $37,500:
NYT,
July 16, 1932, 1.

Hoover nomination acceptance:
NYT,
Aug. 12, 1932, 1.

Hoover campaign trip to Iowa from Schlesinger, vol. 1, 432; Manchester, 52–53; Kennedy, 94 (in passing).

Accounts of discontent in the heartland in the months preceding FDR’s inauguration include Watkins,
Hungry Years,
339–52; Schlesinger, vol. 1, 266–68; Manchester, 58–60; Kennedy, 196. Farmers’ Holiday Association song quoted in Manchester, 59; also in “Toward the Cooperative Commonwealth: An Introductory History of the Farmer-Labor Movement in Minnesota, 1917–1948,” Ph.D. thesis of Thomas Gerald O’Connell of the Union Graduate School, Feb. 1979 (O’Connell cites the
Iowa Union Farmer,
Feb. 27, 1932).

“Wild Bill” Langer quoted in Watkins,
Hungry Years,
350.

Reactions to Hoover: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 432; Manchester, 52–53.

Hoover’s speech that night:
NYT,
Oct. 5, 1932, 18. “Hoover smiles”:
Des Moines Register,
Oct. 5, 1932, 11.

In that final month: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 432, 437; Dickson and Allen, 201.

Part II
Hope on the Rise

1. J
OBS FROM THE
S
KY (AND
N
OWHERE
E
LSE)

New York City weather, snow shovelers:
NYT,
Dec. 8, 1932, 1;
NYT,
Dec. 11, 1932, 1;
NYT,
Dec. 18, 1932, 1, 24; Dec. 19, 1932, 1; Dec. 20, 1932, 3.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan application by Los Angeles and number it would employ:
NYT,
Mar. 10, 1933, 10.

72nd Congress lame duck session: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 448–49, 456. Debate on relief: Burns, 146. Sales tax: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 449. Senate Finance Committee: ibid., 4, 457.

Unemployment rate of 24.9 percent is widely cited, including in Watkins,
Hungry Years,
44.

“Feed the hungry”: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 448. Landon and Fish quoted in Manchester, 58. Reed quoted in Schlesinger, vol. 1, 268.

Louisiana bank closures and Union Guardian Trust: ibid., 475.

Bank failures and bank closings in February, March 1933: Manchester, 71–74; Kennedy, 131–33; Senate hearings and effect on depositors’ confidence: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 478.

McAdoo quoted in Schlesinger, vol. 1, 5, who cites
Time,
Mar. 6, 1933.

2. A
N
A
GONY OF
W
AITING

Hearst quoted in Schlesinger, vol. 1, 467.

Roosevelt cabinet appointments: ibid., 466–72; also Burns, 148–49. Ickes and Progressive background: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 100–1, 421–22; Watkins,
Righteous Pilgrim,
277–80.

Roosevelt cruise and assassination attempt from sources including Schlesinger, vol. 1, 464–65; Black, 263–64; Burns, 147; Kennedy, 116; Phillips, 82. Leona Merrill from her obituary by Kaitlin Keane in
Patriot Ledger
(Quincy, Mass.), Dec. 17, 2005, 52. Zangara execution from
WPA Guide to Florida,
379.

Roosevelt’s sense of calm and national anticipation: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 465–66; Kennedy, 116–17.

Hoover clung to his conviction: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 476–77; Black, 264–67. Hoover letter to Reed: ibid., 265–66.

Roosevelt speech preparation:
NYT,
Mar. 2, 1933, 3.

Spread of bank closings:
NYT,
Mar. 2, 1933, 8; also see Leuchtenberg,
FDR,
38–39.

Roosevelt party to Washington for inauguration:
NYT,
Mar. 2, 1933, 1; Mar. 3, 1933, 1–3; Mar. 4, 1933, 1, 3.

3. A
CTION AT
L
AST

Inaugural weather, banks closed:
NYT,
Mar. 4, 1933, 1.

Inauguration day:
NYT,
Mar. 5, 1933, 1 ff;
Washington Post,
Mar. 5, 1933, 1 ff.

Atmosphere in presidential limousine from Schlesinger, vol. 1, 2–3; Black, 270. Hoover quote from Cutler, 172. Tea from Schlesinger, vol. 1, 2; Kennedy, 133; Manchester, 75.

Inauguration and speech from
NYT,
Mar. 5, 1933, 1 ff. Also described in Schlesinger, vol. 1, 1–8. Descriptions of avid listeners: Manchester, 76–77; Schlesinger, vol. 2, 1; Black, 271; Watkins,
Righteous Pilgrim,
299.

If people wanted action now: Schlesinger, vol. 2, 4.

Cash shortages, runners:
NYT,
Mar. 5, 1933, 6. Golden Gloves: Manchester, 78.

First fireside chat, intro by Robert Trout: Black, 276; transcript of interview by Bob Cockrum with Robert Trout, posted by Cockrum, [email protected], to [email protected], seen at members.aol.com/jeff560/am8.htm.

Will Rogers quote from
NYT,
Mar. 14, 1933; also Schlesinger, vol. 2, 13. Chat quote from fireside chat posted online at New Deal Network (http://newdeal/feri.org/texts/379.htm); also Black, 276–78.

4. W
INDS OF
C
HANGE

Official Washington itself had changed: Schlesinger, vol. 1, 243; Schlesinger, vol. 2, 14.

Decision to push forward: ibid., 8.

Speakeasies from Andrist et al., 106. Cassidy from Dickson and Allen, 32–33. Chicago gangland murders from Andrist et al., 111.

Hundred Days legislation summarized in Schlesinger, vol. 2, 20–21, among others.

Le Mars and Denison, Iowa, from Schlesinger, vol. 2, 42–43. White Cloud, Mich., from Tom Lewis, “A Godlike Presence: The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s,” Organization of American Historians
Magazine of History,
spring 1992, online at www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/communication/lewis.htm.

Lack of jobs, prospects: Schlesinger, vol. 2, 263; Brown, 146.

Lack of relief structure: Schlesinger, vol. 2, 263–65, Leuchtenberg,
FDR,
52, among others.

5. T
HE
P
ASSION OF
H
ARRY
H
OPKINS

Harry Hopkins is abundantly described in New Deal literature. Schlesinger, vol. 2, 265–66, provides a general description that is incorporated here; my description also relies on photographs of Hopkins.

The fullest descriptions of Hopkins’s background and early life appear in McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
17–34, 35–43, and 45. Also Sherwood, 14–30.

Origins of New York’s Temporary Emergency Relief Administration: Brown, 89–94; Sherwood, 31–32. Hopkins’s appointment: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
45–46; Sherwood, 32.

1.2 million New Yorkers receiving TERA aid: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
46. $20 million additional: Brown, 90. November bond issue: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
47; Sherwood, 33.

Components of TERA: Brown, 92–93.

Hopkins much preferred work: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
55–56; Charles, 31.

80,000 into TERA jobs:
NYT,
Mar. 13, 1932, sec. II, 1. Hopkins appointed chairman:
NYT,
Apr. 22, 1932, 21. Report to legislature:
NYT,
Aug. 1, 1932, 33.

Road construction and other work:
NYT,
Aug. 1, 1932, 33. Money for artists’ colony: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
48. Bond issue approval: ibid., 47.

Hopkins in Washington: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
51; Brown, 140–41. Letter to Roosevelt: Schlesinger, vol. 2, 264; Brown, 141.

Hopkins and Hodson to Washington: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
51; Schlesinger, vol. 2, 264.

Meeting with Perkins: Perkins, 183–84. Also ibid.; Black, 281; McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
51; J. Hopkins, 161.

Plan for relief, FDR choice of Hopkins as administrator: Schlesinger, vol. 2, 264–65.

Hopkins’s style, Roosevelt’s view of him: J. Hopkins, 161–62; Sherwood, 32; McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
40. Hopkins’s datebook note: Box 51, Harry L. Hopkins Papers, Georgetown University.

Cable to Lehman: J. Hopkins, 162. Straus offer: McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
51. Child support: ibid. 52. Pay cut: Black, 282. “Took train to Washington”: Box 51, Hopkins papers, Georgetown U.

6. “M
ONEY
F
LIES”

Hopkins started work: J. Hopkins, 162; McJimsey,
Harry Hopkins,
52; Sherwood, 45.

Hopkins was pleased: Sherwood, 45.

Description of Walker-Johnson Building and quote from Sherwood, 62. Insecticide from Phillips, 265. States and grant total from
NYT,
May 23, 1933, 21.

“Money Flies” quoted in Watkins,
Hungry Years,
170; Sherwood, 44–45.

“I’m not going to last six months”: ibid., 45.

Hopkins’s appointees: Charles, 29–30.

“I don’t want anybody…'to waste…'time”: Sherwood, 49. Staff of 121 and total salary of $22,000 a month: ibid., 48.

RFC transfers: Charles, 28–29.

“In more places than could be believed”: H. Hopkins, 103.

Matching funds and grants: Brown, 148. Family subsistence rising: H. Hopkins, 103.

Boy shot while stealing milk: Charles, 28.

“made to feel his pauperism”: H. Hopkins, 100.

Relief investigator’s job: ibid., 101.

Freedom to spend on beer and cigarettes: ibid., 105.

Civilian Conservation Corps: Schlesinger, vol. 2, 337–41.

Not everyone embraced the CCC: Watkins,
Righteous Pilgrim,
338, 339. First enrollee, Henry Rich: USDA Forest Service Web site for George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, www.fs.fed.us/r8/gwj/cultural/ccc/index.shtml.

A good overall description of the CCC is contained in Watkins,
Hungry Years,
159–69. See also Schlesinger, vol. 2, 338–39.

Black CCC workers and resegregation: http://newdeal.feri.org/aaccc/index.htm. Fechner to Griffith from http://newdeal.feri.aaccc/aaccc04.htm.