Research Catalog

City of ambition : FDR, La Guardia, and the making of modern New York

Title
City of ambition : FDR, La Guardia, and the making of modern New York / Mason B. Williams.
Author
Williams, Mason B.
Publication
  • New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2013]
  • ©2013

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Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.

TextNo restrictions *R-USLHG F128.5 .W73 2013Schwarzman Building - Milstein Division Reference Room 121

Details

Description
xvii, 494 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 25 cm
Summary
  • Describes the revitalization of New York during the Great Depression as President Roosevelt and Mayor LaGuardia worked together to build parks, bridges, and schools and put people to work by channeling federal resources into cities and counties.
  • "City of Ambition is a brilliant history of the New Deal and its role in the making of modern New York City. The story of a remarkable collaboration between Franklin Roosevelt and Fiorello La Guardia, this is a case study in creative political leadership in the midst of a devastating depression. Roosevelt and La Guardia were an odd couple: patrician president and immigrant mayor, fireside chat and tabloid cartoon, pragmatic Democrat and reform Republican. But together, as leaders of America's two largest governments in the depths of the Great Depression, they fashioned a route to recovery for the nation and the master plan for a great city. Roosevelt and his "Brain Trust"--Shrewd, energetic advisors such as Harold Ickes and Harry Hopkins -- sought to fight the Depression by channeling federal resources through America's cities and counties. La Guardia had replaced Tammany Hall cronies with policy experts, such as the imperious Robert Moses, who were committed to a strong public sector. The two leaders worked closely together. La Guardia had a direct line of communication with FDR and his staff, often visiting Washington carrying piles of blueprints. Roosevelt relied on the mayor as his link to the nation's cities and their needs. The combination was potent. La Guardia's Gotham became a laboratory for New Deal reform. Roosevelt's New Deal transformed city initiatives into major programs such as the Works Progress Administration, which changed the physical face of the United States. Together they built parks, bridges, and schools; put the unemployed to work; and strengthened the Progressive vision of government as serving the public purpose."--Publisher's description.
Alternative Title
FDR, La Guardia, and the making of modern New York
Subjects
Genre/Form
History.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (pages 411-473) and index.
Contents
I. Foundations -- Beginnings -- A season in the wilderness -- The deluge -- II. The New Deal -- "Jobs is the cry" -- The New Deal's "lost legacy" -- From fusion to confusion -- New dealer for the duration -- III. War and postwar -- The local politics of foreign policy -- The battle of New York -- "I hope others will follow New York's example."
Call Number
F128.5
ISBN
  • 9780393066913
  • 0393066916
  • 9780393348989
  • 0393348989
LCCN
  • 2013004481
  • 40022328723
OCLC
811599488
Author
Williams, Mason B., author.
Title
City of ambition : FDR, La Guardia, and the making of modern New York / Mason B. Williams.
Publisher
New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2013]
Copyright Date
©2013
Edition
First edition.
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 411-473) and index.
Chronological Term
1898-1951
Other Standard Identifier
40022328723
Research Call Number
*R-USLHG F128.5 .W73 2013
IRGN 13-5171
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