The New Deal in the City of Toledo: Opinions and Reactions of Toledoans

Abstract

The city of Toledo is located in Lucas County in the state of Ohio. It rests on the Michigan border in Northwestern Ohio, and the Maumee River runs through the city, emptying into Lake Erie. Toledo was a midsized industrial town in the 1930s. During the depression it fell on hard times. Many New Deal programs instituted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt affected Toledo. Many people formed opinions about the New Deal philosophy, and this paper focuses on the different reactions people had toward Roosevelt's programs. Part one creates the setting in Toledo at the time of the depression. A feeling for the times, as well as pertinent facts, is given. How people voted, whether they had any personal involvement in New Deal programs, how they remember the situation years afterward, and other matters are approached. Then comes the long section which tells of most of the minor and all the major New Deal programs and projects that went on in Toledo. Various opinions and reactions to the New Deal by Toledoans, who lived in the city during the 1930s, are presented. Editorial and other types of opinions are also discussed. Specific projects, results of programs--or lack of results--and lasting effects are revealed.