Love Me, Love My Boondoggle
Object NameEditorial Cartoon
Artist / Maker
Jay Norwood Darling
(American, 1876 - 1962)
DateMay 9, 1936
OriginU.S.A.
MediumPen and ink on paper
Dimensions18 x 13 3/4 in. (45.7 x 34.9 cm)
ClassificationsDrawings
Credit LineGift of Walter Rosene. In the permanent collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object numberU84.78
Status
Not on viewCultureAmerican
Label TextDarling was a Teddy Roosevelt Republican, although he later became one of the most effective members of Franklin Roosevelt's democratic New Deal team. An opponent of centralization in government, Darling understood the need for a "big federal stick" and used this in his efforts to restore and protect land and wildlife. He devoted himself for years to the concept of a centralized organization of conservationists and ecologists.
In May of 1933, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration allocated $500,000,000 in direct relief to be spent by the federal government through state and local agencies. The National Industrial Recovery Act passed by Congress and signed by FDR on June 16, 1933, supported an enormous appropriation of money in the sum of $3,300,0000,0000 for relief through public works to be dispensed at FDR's discretion. In this cartoon dated three years after the relieft act, FDR is explaining the fiscal state of the nation to Miss 1936. Harry L. Hopkins (1890-1946) was depicted as the 'boondoggle', implying not all federal relief and stimulus projects were effective. Hopkins, born in Sioux City, Iowa, and a graduate of Grinnell College, was an architect of many New Deal Programs, including the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which he directed and built into the largest employer in the country, and the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of Darling's favorite work projects.
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Brunnier Main Storage
