Criminal
05-20-2002, 01:45 AM
I was at a local museum this weekend and there was an exhibit on 1930's american poster art and I found the entire thing fascinating. In the 1930's the United States were in the depths of the Great Depression. After the election of Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal was instituted. The New Deal was perhaps the greatest social experiment ever instituted in the US. It was at this time that american leftism became a powerful force in public life. The Communist Party of the US, while very much underground was very active at this time, operating in cryptic organizations. Labor unions struggled for recognition and a great many social causes were addressed. While Roosevelt and his supporters tried to distance themselves from overt communism or socialism, they undoubtedly had some interest in pursuing some socialist goals.
Internationally the Roosevelt administration continued the US's existing policy of neutrality. They did recognize the Soviet Union for the first time and authorized the first trade treaties with that nation, sending industrialist Armand Hammer as the first US ambassidor to the USSR.
During that period the WPA (Works Progress Administration) began, putting thousands of unemployed men to work. Another orginization, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) was institutied along millitary lines employing young men. CCC was put to work in national parks and forests. They wore millitary style uniforms and were housed in barracks. It was during this period that such projects as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Boulder Dam (now the Hoover Dam) were completed.
During this period artists and writers were put to work. The poster art did much to honor and glorify the government programs that existed in this era. Odly enough much of this art was extremely beutiful showed romanticised working people in ways similar to the art of soviet realism. In some posters farm workers, both men and women were shown standing at attention in a grain field gazing into the sky. Such scenes were of course ridiculous but they were used to sell an idea: that the new deal was established for the betterment of all working people.
At this time many writers were put on the goverment payroll. Some rather interesting experiments were the National Folklore Project which saw writers interview rural americans and record stories. One very interesting project was the various state travel guides written by the Federal Writers Project. Many of these travel guides can still be found in public libraries in cities and towns throughout the US. They represent the greatest effort to show to ordinary americans the various resources in all states of the union.
During the 30s american idealists were first organized to fight fascism abroad. The Spanish Civil War became a popular cause for many idealists. A communist sponsered group called the Abraham Lincoln Battalian was organized to fight against Franco. This group, though organized by the communist consisted of leftists and liberals of all stripes.
In closing I have found that the era of the 30's produced america's first encounter with social realism. While it was popular to condemn this government imposed enthusism during the post war McCarthy era, I am inclined to believe that there was a certain innocence to the leftism of this era. The leftists of the 30's believed that they were serving in a sort of great crusade. They saw the collapse of the Stock Markett as proofe of the failure of capitalism. Few of these idealists knew the unknown story of Soviet Russia, the icey Gulags, the great purges and the corruption of Stalin's inner circle. For many, it was not until the 1956 Revolt in Hungary that the horrors of Soviet Communism were truely realized.
Internationally the Roosevelt administration continued the US's existing policy of neutrality. They did recognize the Soviet Union for the first time and authorized the first trade treaties with that nation, sending industrialist Armand Hammer as the first US ambassidor to the USSR.
During that period the WPA (Works Progress Administration) began, putting thousands of unemployed men to work. Another orginization, the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) was institutied along millitary lines employing young men. CCC was put to work in national parks and forests. They wore millitary style uniforms and were housed in barracks. It was during this period that such projects as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Boulder Dam (now the Hoover Dam) were completed.
During this period artists and writers were put to work. The poster art did much to honor and glorify the government programs that existed in this era. Odly enough much of this art was extremely beutiful showed romanticised working people in ways similar to the art of soviet realism. In some posters farm workers, both men and women were shown standing at attention in a grain field gazing into the sky. Such scenes were of course ridiculous but they were used to sell an idea: that the new deal was established for the betterment of all working people.
At this time many writers were put on the goverment payroll. Some rather interesting experiments were the National Folklore Project which saw writers interview rural americans and record stories. One very interesting project was the various state travel guides written by the Federal Writers Project. Many of these travel guides can still be found in public libraries in cities and towns throughout the US. They represent the greatest effort to show to ordinary americans the various resources in all states of the union.
During the 30s american idealists were first organized to fight fascism abroad. The Spanish Civil War became a popular cause for many idealists. A communist sponsered group called the Abraham Lincoln Battalian was organized to fight against Franco. This group, though organized by the communist consisted of leftists and liberals of all stripes.
In closing I have found that the era of the 30's produced america's first encounter with social realism. While it was popular to condemn this government imposed enthusism during the post war McCarthy era, I am inclined to believe that there was a certain innocence to the leftism of this era. The leftists of the 30's believed that they were serving in a sort of great crusade. They saw the collapse of the Stock Markett as proofe of the failure of capitalism. Few of these idealists knew the unknown story of Soviet Russia, the icey Gulags, the great purges and the corruption of Stalin's inner circle. For many, it was not until the 1956 Revolt in Hungary that the horrors of Soviet Communism were truely realized.