New Deal Postage Stamps: Alphabet Soup, Opposition, and the Eagle

Above: This stamp shows why the programs & policies of the New Deal are often called Roosevelt's "alphabet soup." Image from personal collection.

Above: Not everyone was happy with the New Deal's alphabet soup. For example, corporate lawyer Wendell Wilkie was vehemently opposed to the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), thinking that it infringed on the business community's privilege to provide power (or not) to rural areas. Wilkie not only lost the battle over TVA (which still provides electric power to millions of Americans today), but he also lost the 1940 presidential race to President Roosevelt. Image from personal collection.  

Above: This stamp is called the "Art Deco Eagle." Art Deco was a popular art & architecture style during the New Deal era, and also during the years leading up to the New Deal. Interestingly, the eagle image on this stamp is reminiscent of several New Deal symbols, for example, the eagle associated with the National Industrial Recovery Act. Image from personal collection.