Jason Scott Smith, professor of History at The University of New Mexico, recently spoke with journalist Kai Ryssdal on the public radio program “Marketplace,” as part of their insightful new series “Breaking Ground.” The program generates 14 million listeners per week.
In this episode, Ryssdal explores the legacy of the New Deal for the U.S. economy, and Smith provides historical context on the evolving role of the federal government in the American economy. The episode has a special focus on the impact of the New Deal during the Great Depression and oscillates between interviews with Smith, Price Fishback, professor of Economics at the University of Arizona, and Natalie McDonald, graduate student in history at California State University, Northridge.
Smith connects local experiences with national-level historical narratives, highlighting the many ways in which the New Deal continues to influence contemporary policy and explains today’s debates over the importance of government programs. Included in the episode are some of Smith’s son’s observations about his work as a historian, along with some new insights about the past and present!
“As many of us already know, the New Deal's impact is not just a topic of historical inquiry but a tangible presence in our daily life on campus. Zimmerman Library (1938) stands as a monument to this transformative era."
– Jason Scott Smith, UNM History professor
He provided some insight:
“As many of us already know, the New Deal's impact is not just a topic of historical inquiry but a tangible presence in our daily life on campus. Zimmerman Library (1938) stands as a monument to this transformative era. I usually explain to my students that additions were added over the years, clarifying that Zimmerman Library was not built around the Starbucks.”
Scholes Hall has been home to University administrators since it was completed in 1936, Smith said. Both were designed by architect John Gaw Meem and construction took place in the midst of the Great Depression, courtesy of federal funds from the New Deal’s Public Works Administration.
Smith’s teachings on modern American history, the Great Depression, and the history of capitalism span almost two decades at UNM. He is a two-time published author through Cambridge University Press and a specialist in the history of capitalism and political economy. Smith specializes in the history of capitalism and political economy and his research and teaching range from the 19th century through the global financial crisis of 2008.
He is the author of Building New Deal Liberalism: The Political Economy of Public Works, 1933-1956 and A Concise History of the New Deal, (Cambridge University Press).
Before coming to UNM, he held fellowships at the Harvard Business School, where he was the Harvard-Newcomen Postdoctoral Fellow in Business History, and at Cornell University, where he served for two years as a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in American Studies and visiting assistant professor of history and government. In 2017, Smith received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award and was named the Mary Ball Washington Chair in American History at University College Dublin, Ireland. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Marketplace episode is available free for listeners here.
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