{"product_id":"restoring-america-historic-preservation-and-the-new-deal-hardback-9781625348982","title":"Restoring America; Historic Preservation and the New Deal (Hardback) 9781625348982","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eRestoring America\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eHistoric Preservation and the New Deal\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eStephanie Gray (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781625348982\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 12 December 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e304 pages, 24 illus.\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.567 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eRestoring America\u003c\/i\u003e is fascinating and original, with deep research into government papers, architectural plans, New Deal publications, local newspapers, memoirs, oral histories, the records of local organizations, and tourist ads. It makes an important contribution to scholarship that explores how the New Deal shaped conceptions of the American past.\" - Sharon Ann Musher, author of \u003ci\u003eDemocratic Art: The New Deal's Influence on American Culture \u003c\/i\u003e \t\u003cbr\u003e \t\u003cbr\u003e \t\"Gray has done an impressive job of turning deep archival research into clear narratives of the four selected projects. It is no small task to piece together these four separate histories, all with distinct actors, sites, local interests, and circumstances. Her command of the details and complexities of each project make the book a pleasure to read and accessible to both students and scholars.\" - Whitney Martinko, author of \u003ci\u003eHistoric Real Estate: Market Morality and the Politics of Preservation in the Early United States\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eExploring how the New Deal shaped history through politically driven commemoration\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e During the Great Depression, Americans employed historic preservation as a tool to address the political, economic, and social upheavals of the era. Inspired by the Roosevelt administration's unprecedented support of federal arts projects, US politicians, architects, laborers, artisans, and local boosters skillfully used New Deal funds to restore, mythologize, and politicize the 'historic shrines' in their communities. \u003ci\u003eRestoring America\u003c\/i\u003e illustrates how and why Americans turned to historic preservation as a strategy for managing both political realities and ambitions. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Stephanie Gray presents four thoroughly researched and diverse case studies: a colonial theater in the Deep South, a Puritan minister's home in New England, aviator Charles Lindbergh's modest farmhouse and parklands of the Upper Midwest, and a multi-layered Spanish-German-Mexican arts village in the Central South. Collectively, these examples show how the restoration of old places emerged as a popular form of cultural production, an instrument of economic reconstruction, and a striking expression of political theater during the Depression. Moreover, these New Deal preservation projects make evident that any exercise in physically preserving the past is both conservative \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e progressive, reactive \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e proactive. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eRestoring America\u003c\/i\u003e contends that the federally funded and locally driven preservation initiatives of the 1930s and 1940s can help inform contemporary public history debates over the politics of commemoration and imagine possibilities for future preservation practice.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 1. America'\u003cbr\u003es Preservation Impulse Before and During the New Deal\u003cbr\u003e 2. The \"Compelling Romance\" of the Old South: The Dock Street Theatre, Charleston, South Carolina\u003cbr\u003e 3. The Puritan Past at the Old Stone House: The Henry Whitfield State Museum, Guilford, Connecticut\u003cbr\u003e 4. Cultivating the Minnesota Frontier: The Charles A. Lindbergh Boyhood Home and State Park, Little Falls, Minnesota\u003cbr\u003e 5. Maverick'\u003cbr\u003es Pan-American Vision: La Villita Historic Arts Village, San Antonio, Texas\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Appendix A. \"Historic Shrines\" Restored by the Works Progress Administration\u003cbr\u003e Appendix B. National Park Service Restoration Policies, May 19, 1937\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Massachusetts Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52633061523736,"sku":"9781625348982","price":60.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/restoring-america-historic-preservation-and-the-new-deal-hardback-9781625348982","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}