The Grandchildren Speak
June 24, 2016

This video took place in the Lumpkins Ballroom at La Fonda on the Plaza, in Santa Fe New Mexico, at an event organized by the National New Deal Preservation Association. https://www.nndpa.org/

The following is the list of panelists. (Left to right) These are the grandchildren of the architects of some of the largest economic and social government programs in history.

Nina Roosevelt Gibson, granddaughter of FDR and an advocate for abused children, the poor and the mentally ill, said that her grandfather’s strength as a president lay in “his ability to intuitively read the genius and strength in other people and bring them together for the common good.” In the photograph, on this page there is a picture where Nina Gibson is the young girl pictured in the front touching her face. https://news.arizona.edu/story/growing-up-roosevelt

David Giffen, his great-grandfather was Harry Lloyd Hopkins, who was the major architect of the Works Progress Administration and considered to be FDR’s closest colleague. David said, “Harry was a man of few words.” David is the executive director of New York City’s Coalition for the Homeless.

Christopher N. Breiseth was the panel moderator., He Stated that Roosevelt led the hurting nation with the now-famous motto “There is nothing to fear but fear itself,” Dr. Breiseth is a long time board member of the National New Deal Preservation Association and the chair of the board of the Frances Perkins Center in Newcastle, Maine, which is dedicated to preserving Perkins’ legacy, at the head of which is Social Security. https://francesperkinscenter.org/ and he is the former president and CEO of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in Hyde Park, N.Y. https://rooseveltinstitute.org/ Dr. Breiseth is a retired professor, academic administrator, and community advocate celebrating almost five decades of professional excellence.

David Wallace Douglas, a grandson of Henry A. Wallace — who was the U.S. agriculture secretary for two terms, vice president of the United States for one term and commerce secretary for one term.
David Douglas is an environmental lawyer who founded and headed for 30 years, several non-profits, which has provided technical help and funding for drinking water projects in over 1,000 rural communities in a dozen developing countries.

Tomlin Coggeshall is the grandson of Frances Perkins, who served as the 4th United States secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of the Democratic Party, Perkins made history as the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet and the first woman to serve as secretary of labor. As a loyal supporter of her longtime friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped make labor issues important in the emerging New Deal coalition. She was one of two Roosevelt cabinet members to remain in office for his entire presidency the other being Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes. Her most important role came in developing a policy for social security in 1935. She also helped form government policy for working with labor unions, although the union leaders distrusted her. Her Labor Department helped to mediate strikes by way of the United States Conciliation Service. Perkins dealt with many labor questions during World War II, when skilled labor was vital to the economy and women were moving into jobs formerly held by men. https://francesperkinscenter.org/

Thomas J. Walker - whose grandfather, Frank Comerford Walker, was one of FDR’s closest advisers. When Roosevelt became President in 1933, he appointed Walker executive secretary of the National Emergency Council, a New Deal agency related to the NRA. In 1940, Walker became Postmaster General, As Postmaster General, Walker continued his role as political adviser, often taking part in matters far removed from the Post Office. For instance, during the negotiations which preceded the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, he was in regular contact with Japanese Ambassador Nomura. In 1943, Walker also became Chairman of the DNC, serving until 1944. In May 1945, Walker announced his retirement as Postmaster General, to allow President Harry Truman to appoint his own candidate to the office. Later in 1945, Truman appointed Walker as a member of the first U.S. delegation to the United Nations.NNDPA

HISTORY
The NNDPA was created in 1998 thanks to individuals from various Secretary of State offices representing various states nationwide who came together in Santa Fe to discuss all the New Deal accomplishments that were still serving Americans in their individual states and concern that all of those sites needed to be preserved, conserved or restored. Some of those present ended up as part of the first Board of Directors of the newly formed non-profit organization and the current Boards of our groups continue to work hard to carry out the established mission.

The National New Deal Preservation ASSOCIATION (NNDPA) and its New Mexico Chapter are non-profit, tax-exempt 501-c-3 organizations devoted to preserving the country’s New Deal legacy through the identification, documentation, preservation and public education about the New Deal and its profound impact on Americans in the Great Depression—specifically through the visual and performing arts, literature, crafts, structures, and environmental projects.

Another NNDPA chapter is in Colorado Springs, CO. Our national organization is always ready to help other chapters get started and the current board has a number of members that specialize their knowledge in the various ND projects. Since NNDPA started, four other “sister organizations” with similar New Deal goals exist in California, Maine, NY City and Chicago. All are in communication with the Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY.

Learn more

Our National website: https://nndpa.org/ or at https://newdeallegacy.org/

The New Mexico Chapter website: https://nndpanewmexicochapter.org/

Please consider becoming joining as a member of our organizations and we always appreciate donations. This helps us further our missions.

We have also received generous grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the New Mexico Humanities Council. These grants continue to help us with our out-reach programs.

For links to other Organizational Partners: https://nndpanewmexicochapter.org/about