New Deal

Frances Perkins, One of America’s Most Influential Women, Remains Unrecognized

September 23, 2020 by James S. Kaplan 2 Comments

Frances Perkins, who served as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor in all four terms of his administration, is often credited with designing many of the New Deal’s social welfare programs, including Social Security. As such, she ranks among the most influential women of the 20th Century.

Few however, know that Perkins began her career in the Hell’s Kitchen area of the city of New York, work that as inspired inn part by a chance meeting an Irish Tammany Hall District Leader Tom McManus. [Read more…] about Frances Perkins, One of America’s Most Influential Women, Remains Unrecognized

New Deal Idealism At Camp Woodland, Near Woodstock

August 18, 2019 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Camp Woodland was founded in 1939 by a group of idealists inspired by the New Deal who put American democracy into practice by creating an inclusive summer camp for city kids in the Catskills near Phoenicia, NY.

Although detractors would refer to it as “Camp Red” during the McCarthy era, they helped to incubate the folk music movement in America, influenced music in Woodstock, and brought together city and rural communities through the collection and preservation of Catskills folklore and folk music. [Read more…] about New Deal Idealism At Camp Woodland, Near Woodstock

The Revolution of ’28 Talk, Booksigning In Nassau County

December 13, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Robert Chiles is set to speak about his recent book, The Revolution of ’28: Al Smith, American Progressivism, and the Coming of the New Deal, at the East Meadow Public Library in East Meadow, Nassau County, on Tuesday, December 18 at 1 pm.

Chiles will discuss Governor Alfred E. Smith’s rise to statewide and national prominence, the 1928 presidential campaign, and Smith’s relationship with Long Island. Books will be available at the event. [Read more…] about The Revolution of ’28 Talk, Booksigning In Nassau County

New Book: Al Smith and the Revolution of 1928

April 5, 2018 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Robert Chiles new book, The Revolution of ’28: Al Smith, American Progressivism, and the Coming of the New Deal (Cornell University Press, 2018) explores the career of New York Governor and 1928 Democratic presidential nominee Alfred E. Smith.

The Revolution of ’28 charts the rise of that idiomatic progressivism during Smith’s early years as a state legislator through his time as governor of the Empire State in the 1920s, before proceeding to a revisionist narrative of the 1928 presidential campaign, exploring the ways in which Smith’s gubernatorial progressivism was presented to a national audience.

Exhibit: Reginald Marsh, US Custom House Murals

April 7, 2016 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Museum of the City of New York will present “From Ship to Shore: Reginald Marsh & The U.S. Custom House Murals,” a glimpse at rarely seen works from the celebrated American painter known for bringing city scenes to life from the beaches of Coney Island to the burlesque stage, and the United States Custom House. [Read more…] about Exhibit: Reginald Marsh, US Custom House Murals

A NY Woman Who Belongs On The $20 Bill

December 24, 2015 by James S. Kaplan 9 Comments

Recently the Treasury Department has announced its intent to place a prominent woman of historical importance on the U.S. currency. There is no one who is more deserving of this honor than Frances Perkins, a New York woman, who was probably the most significant and important female government official of the 20th century.

As Secretary of Labor throughout President Franklin Roosevelt’s four terms and the first woman ever to hold a cabinet position, Frances Perkins designed most of the New Deal Social Welfare and Labor Policies, such as social security, the minimum wage, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and protections for unions, and reshaped America. [Read more…] about A NY Woman Who Belongs On The $20 Bill