When Franklin Roosevelt came into office as President, a quarter of America's workforce was unemployed. He saw changing that as one of his first priorities. He established the Public Works Administration and Works Progress Administration, among others to get people back to work and earning steady paychecks.
There are economists and historians who still argue that these programs didn't change the unemployment numbers significantly. They say that it took entry into World War II to put a definitive end to the Great Depression. Whatever the truth, these programs completely changed the mood of the country for the better. Even almost a hundred years after they began, Roosevelt's initiatives are still being felt.
The Hoover Dam or Boulder Dam, the name changed according to which party was in power back in the early part of twentieth century America, put twenty thousand Americans to work at the height of construction on the project. It took five years to build at a cost of a million and a half dollars. The dam continues to operate and is considered an architectural masterpiece. Millions of tourists visit it and Lake Mead each year.
The Grand Coulee Dam was a favorite project of Franklin Roosevelt. He loved the idea that the Columbia River could be harnessed and directed to the driest parts of eastern Washington State creating viable farmland. It took sixty-five million dollars and nine years, but his dream became a reality. Today Coulee Dam still stands as one of our planet's largest concrete structures.
National parks were part of Roosevelt's grand design. At the center was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The WPA workers created a masterpiece that includes nearly nine hundred acres of wilderness. Every year more than ten million visitors tour the North Carolina and Tennessee lands. Its cultural significance has been recognized by UNESCO.
Underwater tunnels were not prevalent the nineteen thirties, and the Lincoln Tunnel may have begun a trend. It took almost twenty years to complete, opening for business in 1937 although it was 1957 before all three tubes were finished. The tunnel runs a mile and a half and connects Manhattan to New Jersey. Nearly half a billion vehicles are driven through each year.
What began as the Triborough Bridge on Black Friday in 1929 was not completed until 1936, and it took funding by the WPA to do it. This bridge, now known as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, connects Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. It is actually a series of three long span bridges, several smaller ones, a viaduct, and approach roads. Approximately two hundred thousand people use the bridge every day.
The government climate has changed dramatically, and not for the better. Self-interest, gridlock, and special interest groups seem to have taken over. One wonders how Roosevelt would have handled the current climate when the country's future was at stake.
There are economists and historians who still argue that these programs didn't change the unemployment numbers significantly. They say that it took entry into World War II to put a definitive end to the Great Depression. Whatever the truth, these programs completely changed the mood of the country for the better. Even almost a hundred years after they began, Roosevelt's initiatives are still being felt.
The Hoover Dam or Boulder Dam, the name changed according to which party was in power back in the early part of twentieth century America, put twenty thousand Americans to work at the height of construction on the project. It took five years to build at a cost of a million and a half dollars. The dam continues to operate and is considered an architectural masterpiece. Millions of tourists visit it and Lake Mead each year.
The Grand Coulee Dam was a favorite project of Franklin Roosevelt. He loved the idea that the Columbia River could be harnessed and directed to the driest parts of eastern Washington State creating viable farmland. It took sixty-five million dollars and nine years, but his dream became a reality. Today Coulee Dam still stands as one of our planet's largest concrete structures.
National parks were part of Roosevelt's grand design. At the center was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The WPA workers created a masterpiece that includes nearly nine hundred acres of wilderness. Every year more than ten million visitors tour the North Carolina and Tennessee lands. Its cultural significance has been recognized by UNESCO.
Underwater tunnels were not prevalent the nineteen thirties, and the Lincoln Tunnel may have begun a trend. It took almost twenty years to complete, opening for business in 1937 although it was 1957 before all three tubes were finished. The tunnel runs a mile and a half and connects Manhattan to New Jersey. Nearly half a billion vehicles are driven through each year.
What began as the Triborough Bridge on Black Friday in 1929 was not completed until 1936, and it took funding by the WPA to do it. This bridge, now known as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, connects Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. It is actually a series of three long span bridges, several smaller ones, a viaduct, and approach roads. Approximately two hundred thousand people use the bridge every day.
The government climate has changed dramatically, and not for the better. Self-interest, gridlock, and special interest groups seem to have taken over. One wonders how Roosevelt would have handled the current climate when the country's future was at stake.
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