The interactive timeline below depicts important events and milestones relevant to this exhibition, from the period of the early 1930’s through today. Events are tracked across three categories:
Franklin D. Roosevelt 
Norman Rockwell 
world events
Japan announces its withdrawal
1933 / 1930sWithdrawal from the League of Nations after a resolution is passed declaring the Japanese occupation of Manchuria illegal
Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States of America
March 4, 1933 / 1930sDuring his speech, FDR utters this now famous line, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
President Roosevelt gives the first “Fireside Chat”
March 12, 1933 / 1930sBroadcasting from the White House, Washington, D.C.
The first of many ‘fireside chats’ – FDR declares a “bank holiday,” temporarily closing all national banks and meets with Congress to discuss the Bank Crisis
Photo: Public Domain
President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler chancellor of the German republic
March 21, 1933 12:00 am / 1930sFDR – “Fireside Chat”
May 7, 1933 / 1930sPresident Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chat” – Outlining the New Deal Program
Radio Address of the President:
To you, the people of this country, all of us, the Members of the Congress and the members of this Administration owe a profound debt of gratitude. Throughout the depression you have been patient. You have granted us wide powers, you have encouraged us with a wide-spread approval of our purposes. Every ounce of strength and every resource at our command we have devoted to the end of justifying your confidence. We are encouraged to believe that a wise and sensible beginning has been made. In the present spirit of mutual confidence and mutual encouragement we go forward.- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
FDR “Fireside Chat”
July 24, 1933 / 1930sFirst Hundred Days: The Purposes and Foundations of the Recovery Program
Prohibition Ends
December 5, 1933 / 1930sProhibition is lifted in the USA when the Twenty-First Amendment repeals the Eighteenth, which has been in force for 13 years.
Mrs. Roosevelt helps to launch a campaign by women
January 15, 1934 / 1930sA women run campaign for the Roosevelt Administration’s recovery projects in the Democratic National Committee.
Photo Credit: Mrs. Roosevelt in Puerto Rico – with fellow friends and feminists, including, Emma Bugbee, a journalist who covered the First Lady, as a reporter and friend. Bugbee’s reporting helped to promote the Roosevelt administration in a positive light
Photo: Courtesy of the FDR Library Photograph Collection
President Roosevelt encourages “Birthday Balls”
January 30, 1934 / 1930sPresident Roosevelt uses his birthday to encourage Americans to host “Birthday Balls” to raise awareness and money for the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation – founded in 1927 as a polio rehabilitation center.
Photo: Courtesy of the FDR Library Photograph Collection
“Fireside Chat”
June 28, 1934 / 1930sPresident Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chat” on the merits of the recovery program
Photo: Public Domain
FDR “Fireside Chat”
September 30, 1934 / 1930sPresident Roosevelt delivers “Fireside Chat” on Moving Forward to Greater Freedom and Security
Photo: Public Domain
Rockwell’s “Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit,” published cover
December 15, 1934 12:00 am / 1930sTiny Tim and Bob Cratchit (God Bless Us Everyone), Norman Rockwell. 1934. Oil on canvas, 55” x 31” Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, December 15, 1934 ©1934 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN
Mrs. Roosevelt is the honored guest at the Cause and Cure of War Conference
January 22, 1935 / 1930sPhoto: Public Domain
This year President Roosevelt’s annual “Birthday-Balls” celebration
January 30, 1935 / 1930sFundraising money to be given to local infantile paralysis treatment centers across the country and to medical research to find a cure
Photo: Courtesy of the FDR Library
FDR – “Fireside Chat”
April 28, 1935 / 1930sWorks Progress Administration and Social Security
President Roosevelt speaks on the establishment of the work relief program, which includes the structure of Social Security
Photo: Public Domain
Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law
August 14, 1935 / 1930sPhoto: Public Domain
First meeting of the Social Security Board
September 14, 1935 / 1930sThe Social Security operations was made up of three operating bureaus: Public Assistance, Unemployment Compensation, and Old-Age Benefits
Photo: Courtesy of SSA History Museum & Archives.
President Roosevelt & the leader of the NAACP
January 2, 1936 / 1930sMrs. Roosevelt secures a meeting with Walter White, leader of the NAACP, and President Roosevelt
President Roosevelt gives a speech at the American Museum of Natural History
January 19, 1936 / 1930sA dedication ceremony of the Theodore Roosevelt Wing – New York
Theodore Roosevelt is seen here pointing out his explorations
Photo: Creative Commons
Photo Credit: Theodore Roosevelt
Social Security (SS-5) applications
1936 / 1930sPostal carriers delivering Social Security (SS-5) application forms
Photo: Courtesy of SSA History Museum & Archives
Rockwell illustrates the Heritage Press Edition of “Tom Sawyer”
March 6, 1936 / 1930sTom Sawyer “Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it.” , Norman Rockwell. 1936
Oil on canvas, 17.5 x 13.75″ Illustration for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1936
Movie “Starlet and Reporters” published cover
May 7, 1936 / 1930sMovie Starlet and Reporters, 1936. Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 7 1936. ©1936 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN.
“Love Ouanga” – Illustration
1936 / 1930sLove Ouanga ‘Spice slumped on a bench…’, Norman Rockwell. 1945 Oil on canvas, 30 x 62″ Illustration for American Magazine, June 1936. Collection of the National Museum of American Illustration
FDR “Fireside Chat”
September 6, 1936 / 1930sDrought Conditions and the Plight of Farmers
Photo: Courtesy of Library of Congress (Harris & Ewing, photographer)
FDR is elected for a second US presidential term with an increased share of the vote
November 3, 1936 / 1930sPhoto: Public Domain
President Roosevelt orders two battleships to be built
January 8, 1937 / 1930sIn response to foreign powers decline to renew treaties limiting navel armaments
Photo of USS Yorktown – example of Battleship to be built
Photo: Courtesy of the Naval History and Heritage Command
President Roosevelt appoints Thomas Edison’s son, Charles Edison
January 18, 1937 / 1930sFDR appoints, Charles Edison, Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Photo: Public Domain
Photo Credit: Charles Edison
Norman Rockwell creates 13-foot-wide Yankee Doodle Mural for Nassau Inn
1937 / 1930sYankee Doodle (Mural), 1937. Oil on canvas, 60 x 152″ Mural for the Nassau Inn, 1937.
Hindenburg Explosion
May 6, 1937 / 1930sGerman airship bursts into flames trying to land at Lakehurst, NJ
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives
Congress rejects President Roosevelt’s proposed reform of the US Supreme Court
1937 / 1930sRejection due to amid furious accusations that he is trying to pack the Court with his nominees
FDR signs the second Agricultural Adjustment Act
February 16, 1938 / 1930s
Rockwell purchases home in Arlington, VT
1938 / 1930s
Norman Rockwell’s Heart’s Dearest, “Why Do You Cry?” illustration
1938 / 1930sNorman Rockwell (1894-1978), Heart’s Dearest, 1938 Oil on canvas, 32” x 18″ Story illustration for Woman’s Home Companion, March 1938 Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©Norman Rockwell Family Agency. All rights reserved.
U.S.A. – Minimum wage is 40 cents / hour
1938 / 1930s44 hour working week
The tragic face of ‘Hitlerism’
1938 / 1930sSudeten woman forced to salute Hitler
Photo: National Archives
Fair Labor Standards Act
1938 / 1930sFair law passed for “labor of persons under eighteen years of age”
Photo: Courtesy of National Archives, Records of Children’s Bureau
Rockwell travels to England
1938 / 1930sHe meets several famous illustrators, including Arthur Rackham
Congress passes the Revenue Act of 1938
May 27, 1938 / 1930sAfter FDR veto, the Revenue Act is passed to stimulate the economy by corporate income tax reduction
FDR signs the Fair Labor Standards Act
June 25, 1938 / 1930s
Rockwell’s Illustration “Artist Facing Blank Canvas,” published cover
October 8, 1938 / 1930sArtist Facing Blank Canvas (Deadline), Norman Rockwell. 1938 Oil on canvas, 38 ½ x 30 ½” Cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, October 8, 1938 From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum ©1938 SEPS: Licensed by Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN
Mrs. Roosevelt goes on record in favor of passing the federal anti-lynching bill
January 13, 1939 / 1930sAt the Second National Conference on Problems of the Negro and Negro Youth
Rockwell befriends John Atherton & Mead Schaeffer
1939 / 1930sTwo other illustrators living in Arlington, VT
Rockwell’s “A Scout is Helpful,” first seen in Boy Scout calendar
1939 / 1930sA Scout is Helpful, Norman Rockwell. 1941. Oil on canvas, 34 x 24” Illustration for Boy Scouts of America Calendar From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing Company, Niles, IL
German-born US physicist Albert Einstein writes to President Roosevelt
August 2, 1939 / 1930sThe letter is a warning of the potential of an atomic bomb
Photo: Public Domain
Photo Credit: Albert Einstein
Social Security amendments
August 10, 1939 / 1930sSocial Security amendments advanced the start date for monthly benefits – poster informing the public about the amendments
Photo: Courtesy of SSA History Museum & Archives
FDR – “Fireside Chat”
September 3, 1939 / 1930sPresident Roosevelt speaks on, the war in Europe – The radio press is there to capture his ‘fireside chat’
Photo: Public Domain
