It’s not like war, it’s like the New Deal
Updated: Apr 4
In my last post, I argued that the language of war was inappropriate for talking about the coronavirus epidemic. When the Governor of New York tells us that ventilators are as necessary as missiles, what appeared inappropriate becomes a bit ridiculous. Considering not only the public health crisis, but also the economic crisis (and the environmental crisis), would not the language spoken during the Great Depression in the 1930s be a much better choice?
So, what were people talking about: Here’s a list of their programs (from The Living New Deal web site).
Agricultural Adjustment Act (1933, Reauthorized 1938)
Armed Forces and National Defense Industries
Army Corps of Engineers (1802)
Art & Culture Projects of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) (1934)
Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (1937)
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) (1937)
Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) (1918) – renamed Public Roads Administration (1939)
Civil Works Administration (CWA) (1933)
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (1933)
Emergency Banking Relief Act (1933)
Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (1933)
Federal Emergency Relief Act (1933)
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) (1933)
Federal Parks Reorganization (1933)
Federal Project Number One (Federal One) (1935)
Federal Art Project (FAP) (1935) Federal Music Project (FMP) (1935) Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) (1935) Federal Theatre Project (FTP) (1935) Historical Records Survey (HRS) (1935)
Federal Security Agency (FSA) (1939)
Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation (FSCC) (1933)– named Federal Surplus Relief Corporation (1933-1935), then Federal Surplus Commodities Corporation (1935-1940)
Federal Works Agency (FWA) (1939)
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Acts (1934)
Glass-Steagall Banking Act (1933)
Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933)
National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) (1935)
National Youth Administration (NYA) (1935)
Public Buildings Administration (PBA) (1939)
Public Works Administration (PWA) (1933)
Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) (1933)
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (PRRA) (1935)
Resettlement Administration (RA) (1935)
Rural Electrification Act (1936)
Rural Electrification Administration (REA) (1935)
Section of Fine Arts (1934) – >called Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture from 1934-1938, then Section of Fine Arts from 1938-1943
Securities Act (1933) & Securities Exchange Act (1934)
Soil Conservation Service (SCS) (1935)
Taylor Grazing Act (1934)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (1933)
Treasury, Public Buildings Branch (PBB) (1933) – called Public Works Branch from 1933-1935, then Public Buildings Branch from 1935-1939
Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP) (1935)
United States Housing Act (1937)
Wagner-Peyser Act / United States Employment Service (1933)
Works Progress Administration (WPA) (1935) – renamed Work Projects Administration (1939)