photography and murals: redefining a nation during the New Deal
The 1930’s were a time when Americans went from working towards the American dream to working towards a way to survive. It was a period of participation and belonging, a nation struggling together to create a better time. This period brought on nerves and uncertainty regarding the way that our nation was being run. The American people became unsure that democracy was the right way to live- and if it was, to what level should the government be intervening in the people’s lives? Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered a uniquely American solution to the great depression by introducing the New Deal to Americans in an effort to bring back the economy and stimulate a nation. The New Deal was not an ideology or a political agenda, but rather a set of ideals that motivated millions of Americans. This was a time of change in America, it was time for a new social contract. This new contract went from enabling every family to be able to have a farm and land to helping every family get an education and a job to help them buy a house and manage their lives in a healthy way, now that expansion onto open land had ended. Roosevelt taught America that government aid does not undermine individualism, but expands it. While the American economy slowly began to expand due to Roosevelt’s New Deal, so then did the longing to come together as a nation. Film, photography, and radio broadcast alike, played they key role in defining the culture of the 1930s. These communication medians were used to give the American people reasons to support Roosevelts ideas of what the American way of life should be. Government agencies hired photographers, artists, and writers to create documents and images to spread New Deal ideals to the country. Photography is the most significant of these three because imagery itself has the ability to span socioeconomic boundaries. “The photograph affected those who could or would not read” (Susman) Those who were wealthy and attending school, as well as those who couldn’t read well or speak perfect English could universally understand photography and murals. The CCC photos and Seymour Fogel’s murals were used to influence the American culture during the thirties by showing the new ideals for the nation of working men and unity as a country. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party late in the summer of 1932. During this time, the American dream had been crushed to a nightmare. America had been known as the land of opportunity, and with the Great Depression lingering, despair took over quickly. The American people were forced to question the ideals that they had so strongly stood by for decades- capitalism, freedom, and democracy. The average American income was reduced by 40 percent in only three years as Americans focused more on surviving than they did on achieving their dreams. The 1930’s marked a period in which the country went from a laissez-faire economy, that fostered the idea of little to no government intervention to the one that made Roosevelt famous, an economy largely regulated by the federal government. The United States of America struggled through the 20’s and 30’s and while democracies in Germany and Italy fell to the rise of dictatorships, the constitution of our country prevailed. In October of 1929, the United States experienced the worst stock market crash of all time. It was not, however, because of this that the entire economy collapsed. Rather, it had to do with the fact that American banks had loaned out a lot of money for stock purchases, and lower stock prices put local banks in danger. As banks failed, so, then, did the economy. President Hoover insisted that America’s economy would regulate itself over time. He said that direct government intervention was not the right answer and that it weakened Americas founding ideas of individualism. Hoover cut American spending even further, and hoped that prosperity would flow down to the poor majority of Americans. When FDR offered new ideas, America was quick to elect him in hopes of saving the failed economy. Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to the American people. The New Deal was a conservative idea that was aimed at saving capitalism. There were two major “New Deal’s,” and the first, occurring from 1933-1935 worked using many trickle down policies, while the second worked on encouraging the masses to consume. The first New Deal aimed to save the economy from the top downwards. Roosevelt wasted no time in putting his ideas to action. He began with the Agricultural Adjustment Act, passed in 1933. This involved the government paying farmers to produce less, because they thought that the low farm prices resulted from overproduction. The National Industrial Recovery Act was set up in 1933 and temporarily suspended anti-monopoly laws, using price fixing. This resulted in the problem of extremely low consumer demand. The Tennessee Valley Authority was passed in 1933 and it gave millions of dollars to change the economies of seven Southern states. The government gave money towards things like dam building and flood control by providing jobs in construction. Roosevelts second New Deal worked in the opposite way; from the bottom up. Roosevelt worked to increase spending at the bottom of the economy where it had decreased drastically since the start of the depression. Many of these programs, like Social Security, are still present today. Roosevelt started the Works Progress Administration as a federal jobs program that hired unemployed people in order to raise the demand of consumers. Most of these jobs were related to public works projects, such as building roads or buildings. The Social Security Act was passed in 1935 and set up the federally guaranteed pension system that we know today. Roosevelt also instated the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, which tried to stop unions from falling apart. This began the National Labor Relations board, which introduced the right of collective bargaining. Warren Susman’s “The Culture of the Thirties” sought to explain the cultural developments of the 1930s and how they related to the political and social climate at the time. Susman looks at culture and how it truly defines and interconnects a nation. Susman looked at the outlets of photography, radio, and film and how these were able to define a nation. “The 1930’s was the decade of participation and belonging,” Susman says; the 1930’s were a time when “the need to feel one’s self a part of some larger body, some larger sense of purpose” [Susman] was very important. “Individualism can only exist if the culture permits it,” says Susman, “ that is, if it can have a necessary function within the structure of culture itself.” Susman speaks of the popularity of how American writers and artists would speak more about American life during this time. He argues that this was not only because there came a more complex effort to define every aspect of American life but also because of the effort developing to “seek and define America as a culture and create the patterns of a way of life worth understanding.” [Susman] Susman claims that the technological developments of photography, film, and radio played a large role in shaping the culture of America. FDR broadcasted the fireside addresses over the radio, through which a unique view of the world was presented. Photography and film also played a role in the way that culture was communicated throughout America. Photographs created a universal form of communication- something that could be understood by everyone on the same level. Film, too, redefined culture in America by bringing “figures of power into the immediate experience of most Americans.” These medians provided a way for Americans to communicate and develop together as one culture, bringing a sense of unity to the nation. The CCC photos ‘Negro Working,’ ‘Work Project,’ and ‘Salem, VA,’ all portray Roosevelts ideals of a newly American way of life. Roosevelt worked hard to show the nation that Americans needed to stop thinking of acquiring land as being a source of income, that we needed to go from a nation of people working to attain more to a nation of people working to produce more. These photographs are perfect examples of this. ‘Work Project’ shows the new ideal of the American man, he is a worker and he is strong and proud. The caption below the photo explains that the man in the photo was working cracking rocks for park retaining walls and gutter bases. This was a big part of Roosevelt’s New Deal- he strove to create jobs for the lower and middle class by bettering the nation through public works projects. Salem, VA shows a similar concept, a man working hard outside, drilling, likely for something that is a part of a public works project as well. The 1930’s were a time that Americans could band together in order to create a better country economically as well as a more productive one, with the most modern technologies. The ‘Negro Working’ photo shows the same thing, but the impact that a photo like this must have made is unimaginable to us in this day and age. Roosevelt drove our nation towards unity, and it was photos like this that empowered and gave meaning to his promise that he would treat blacks as equals. For Roosevelt, everyone in the nation had to be a part of bringing it back together in order for it to work. Though Roosevelt was the one motivating the masses, it was these photos of individuals that helped Americans feel closer to one another and gave them proof that each American working individually could better the nation as a whole. Seymour Fogel’s murals put fourth the same ideas onto the nation- that working together was the only way to get out of the depression that the 20s left us with. Fogel’s ‘Security of the Family’ shows a family working together to build a house. The mother is taking care of the child and the other children are helping to get the house together. Fogel’s works strongly emphasized the togetherness that the New Deal brought to America. Roosevelt wanted to bring America to a place of unity and this was a time of togetherness; Roosevelts ability to create new jobs and to protect Americans by way of things like Social Security was a perfect example of this. Roosevelt wanted to assure Americans that this new way of life was approrpate and would allow them to succeed, but in order to do that, he needed to assure them that they would be able to make a living and get money. Passing bills like the Social Security Act and the Tennessee Valley Authority worked in just this way. Americans were wary of whether to trust Roosevelt in their time of great need, and he gave them no room for doubt. Fogel’s ‘Industrial Life’ does the same thing. It shows Americans working together in the workplace, which is, noticeably, not a farm. In this time of great and drastic change, Americans were unsure what to think of carreer options like building and science, and Roosevelt did everything that he could to ensure the public that this was what was necessary to fix America’s strained economy. This picture shows American men’s ability to work together and succeed, and Roosevelt worked hard to show the nation that this was not only possible, but also easily feasible with the government projects that he was implementing.
photography and murals: redefining a nation during the New Deal
ReplyDeleteThe 1930’s were a time when Americans went from working towards the American dream to working towards a way to survive. It was a period of participation and belonging, a nation struggling together to create a better time. This period brought on nerves and uncertainty regarding the way that our nation was being run. The American people became unsure that democracy was the right way to live- and if it was, to what level should the government be intervening in the people’s lives? Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered a uniquely American solution to the great depression by introducing the New Deal to Americans in an effort to bring back the economy and stimulate a nation. The New Deal was not an ideology or a political agenda, but rather a set of ideals that motivated millions of Americans. This was a time of change in America, it was time for a new social contract. This new contract went from enabling every family to be able to have a farm and land to helping every family get an education and a job to help them buy a house and manage their lives in a healthy way, now that expansion onto open land had ended. Roosevelt taught America that government aid does not undermine individualism, but expands it. While the American economy slowly began to expand due to Roosevelt’s New Deal, so then did the longing to come together as a nation. Film, photography, and radio broadcast alike, played they key role in defining the culture of the 1930s. These communication medians were used to give the American people reasons to support Roosevelts ideas of what the American way of life should be. Government agencies hired photographers, artists, and writers to create documents and images to spread New Deal ideals to the country. Photography is the most significant of these three because imagery itself has the ability to span socioeconomic boundaries. “The photograph affected those who could or would not read” (Susman) Those who were wealthy and attending school, as well as those who couldn’t read well or speak perfect English could universally understand photography and murals. The CCC photos and Seymour Fogel’s murals were used to influence the American culture during the thirties by showing the new ideals for the nation of working men and unity as a country.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party late in the summer of 1932. During this time, the American dream had been crushed to a nightmare. America had been known as the land of opportunity, and with the Great Depression lingering, despair took over quickly. The American people were forced to question the ideals that they had so strongly stood by for decades- capitalism, freedom, and democracy. The average American income was reduced by 40 percent in only three years as Americans focused more on surviving than they did on achieving their dreams. The 1930’s marked a period in which the country went from a laissez-faire economy, that fostered the idea of little to no government intervention to the one that made Roosevelt famous, an economy largely regulated by the federal government. The United States of America struggled through the 20’s and 30’s and while democracies in Germany and Italy fell to the rise of dictatorships, the constitution of our country prevailed.
In October of 1929, the United States experienced the worst stock market crash of all time. It was not, however, because of this that the entire economy collapsed. Rather, it had to do with the fact that American banks had loaned out a lot of money for stock purchases, and lower stock prices put local banks in danger. As banks failed, so, then, did the economy.
President Hoover insisted that America’s economy would regulate itself over time. He said that direct government intervention was not the right answer and that it weakened Americas founding ideas of individualism. Hoover cut American spending even further, and hoped that prosperity would flow down to the poor majority of Americans. When FDR offered new ideas, America was quick to elect him in hopes of saving the failed economy.
Roosevelt introduced the New Deal to the American people. The New Deal was a conservative idea that was aimed at saving capitalism. There were two major “New Deal’s,” and the first, occurring from 1933-1935 worked using many trickle down policies, while the second worked on encouraging the masses to consume.
The first New Deal aimed to save the economy from the top downwards. Roosevelt wasted no time in putting his ideas to action. He began with the Agricultural Adjustment Act, passed in 1933. This involved the government paying farmers to produce less, because they thought that the low farm prices resulted from overproduction. The National Industrial Recovery Act was set up in 1933 and temporarily suspended anti-monopoly laws, using price fixing. This resulted in the problem of extremely low consumer demand. The Tennessee Valley Authority was passed in 1933 and it gave millions of dollars to change the economies of seven Southern states. The government gave money towards things like dam building and flood control by providing jobs in construction.
Roosevelts second New Deal worked in the opposite way; from the bottom up. Roosevelt worked to increase spending at the bottom of the economy where it had decreased drastically since the start of the depression. Many of these programs, like Social Security, are still present today. Roosevelt started the Works Progress Administration as a federal jobs program that hired unemployed people in order to raise the demand of consumers. Most of these jobs were related to public works projects, such as building roads or buildings. The Social Security Act was passed in 1935 and set up the federally guaranteed pension system that we know today. Roosevelt also instated the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, which tried to stop unions from falling apart. This began the National Labor Relations board, which introduced the right of collective bargaining.
Warren Susman’s “The Culture of the Thirties” sought to explain the cultural developments of the 1930s and how they related to the political and social climate at the time. Susman looks at culture and how it truly defines and interconnects a nation. Susman looked at the outlets of photography, radio, and film and how these were able to define a nation.
“The 1930’s was the decade of participation and belonging,” Susman says; the 1930’s were a time when “the need to feel one’s self a part of some larger body, some larger sense of purpose” [Susman] was very important.
“Individualism can only exist if the culture permits it,” says Susman, “ that is, if it can have a necessary function within the structure of culture itself.”
Susman speaks of the popularity of how American writers and artists would speak more about American life during this time. He argues that this was not only because there came a more complex effort to define every aspect of American life but also because of the effort developing to “seek and define America as a culture and create the patterns of a way of life worth understanding.” [Susman]
Susman claims that the technological developments of photography, film, and radio played a large role in shaping the culture of America. FDR broadcasted the fireside addresses over the radio, through which a unique view of the world was presented. Photography and film also played a role in the way that culture was communicated throughout America. Photographs created a universal form of communication- something that could be understood by everyone on the same level. Film, too, redefined culture in America by bringing “figures of power into the immediate experience of most Americans.” These medians provided a way for Americans to communicate and develop together as one culture, bringing a sense of unity to the nation.
The CCC photos ‘Negro Working,’ ‘Work Project,’ and ‘Salem, VA,’ all portray Roosevelts ideals of a newly American way of life. Roosevelt worked hard to show the nation that Americans needed to stop thinking of acquiring land as being a source of income, that we needed to go from a nation of people working to attain more to a nation of people working to produce more. These photographs are perfect examples of this. ‘Work Project’ shows the new ideal of the American man, he is a worker and he is strong and proud. The caption below the photo explains that the man in the photo was working cracking rocks for park retaining walls and gutter bases. This was a big part of Roosevelt’s New Deal- he strove to create jobs for the lower and middle class by bettering the nation through public works projects. Salem, VA shows a similar concept, a man working hard outside, drilling, likely for something that is a part of a public works project as well. The 1930’s were a time that Americans could band together in order to create a better country economically as well as a more productive one, with the most modern technologies. The ‘Negro Working’ photo shows the same thing, but the impact that a photo like this must have made is unimaginable to us in this day and age. Roosevelt drove our nation towards unity, and it was photos like this that empowered and gave meaning to his promise that he would treat blacks as equals. For Roosevelt, everyone in the nation had to be a part of bringing it back together in order for it to work. Though Roosevelt was the one motivating the masses, it was these photos of individuals that helped Americans feel closer to one another and gave them proof that each American working individually could better the nation as a whole.
Seymour Fogel’s murals put fourth the same ideas onto the nation- that working together was the only way to get out of the depression that the 20s left us with. Fogel’s ‘Security of the Family’ shows a family working together to build a house. The mother is taking care of the child and the other children are helping to get the house together. Fogel’s works strongly emphasized the togetherness that the New Deal brought to America. Roosevelt wanted to bring America to a place of unity and this was a time of togetherness; Roosevelts ability to create new jobs and to protect Americans by way of things like Social Security was a perfect example of this. Roosevelt wanted to assure Americans that this new way of life was approrpate and would allow them to succeed, but in order to do that, he needed to assure them that they would be able to make a living and get money. Passing bills like the Social Security Act and the Tennessee Valley Authority worked in just this way. Americans were wary of whether to trust Roosevelt in their time of great need, and he gave them no room for doubt. Fogel’s ‘Industrial Life’ does the same thing. It shows Americans working together in the workplace, which is, noticeably, not a farm. In this time of great and drastic change, Americans were unsure what to think of carreer options like building and science, and Roosevelt did everything that he could to ensure the public that this was what was necessary to fix America’s strained economy. This picture shows American men’s ability to work together and succeed, and Roosevelt worked hard to show the nation that this was not only possible, but also easily feasible with the government projects that he was implementing.