The New Deal and the Northwest
Summary
The podcast delves into the profound impact of the New Deal on the Pacific Northwest, examining how federal programs mobilized during the Great Depression brought modernization, cheap power, and employment to a hard-hit resource economy. It highlights monumental projects like the Grand Coulee Dam, the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and even the cultural contributions of artists like Woody Guthrie. The discussion also covers the challenges, environmental consequences, and the enduring political legacy of this transformative era.Episode description
From cheap power to rugged hiking trails, Franklin D. Roosevelt's government transformed the region.
When President Roosevelt launched the New Deal in 1933, he set off a decade-long mobilization that would help move America out of the Great Depression.
It was a massive program that not only provided jobs, but also modernized infrastructure throughout the country. In the Pacific Northwest, where the resource economy was hit hard by the Depression, it reshaped society and even remade the land.
Crosscut's resident historian Knute Berger told the tale of the New Deal and its impact on the Pacific Northwest in a recent episode of the Mossback's Northwest video series, but the New Deal is bigger than any single video could contain.
For this episode of the Mossback podcast, Berger joins former Mossback's Northwest producer, and new Mossback co-host, Stephen Hegg about the ways that the program transformed the Northwest and how the region's most massive project helped set the course for the next century.
Before listening, we suggest you watch the Mossback's Northwest episode about the New Deal here.
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Credits
Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger
Producer: Seth Halleran
Executive producer: Mark Baumgarten