In his talk yesterday, Bruce Judson made reference to the first 100 days of the Roosevelt administration.  As now, there was a deep financial crisis. As now, there was no one clear path to follow.  But doing nothing was not an option.  Bruce reminded us that they tried things, experimenting to see what worked.

There’s a local exhibition – close by in Hyde Park – that provides the history of that earlier era when a new president confronted an economic crisis of unprecedented proportions.  I haven’t seen it yet but it sounds like a something for the winter vacation calendar.

How lucky to have it right here in our neighborhood.

The  special exhibition “Action, and Action Now” FDR’s First 100 Days is an “immersive experience, designed to evoke the desperation of the people in the midst of the Great Depression, followed by hope and energy as the nation rebuilds.”

In 1933 President Roosevelt “took command of a country that was incapacitated by fear.”  His leadership in that time of crisis made a difference.  At PDS it’s not only Bruce’s presentation but also in history classes that students are learning about the parallels between the current circumstances and the past.

Josie Holford

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