Boondoggle: The Story of the '$25,000' Memphis Dog House and Other Stories [WPA & New Deal Politics] [1936 Democratic Campaign Literature]

Item Details

Washington, D.C., The Record Publishing Co., Inc.,, [1936], Stapled wrappers

First Edition, Good

NEW DEAL POLITICS, WPA DEFENSE, AND THE 1936 CAMPAIGN.
Published during the controversy over Roosevelt's New Deal, this illustrated political pamphlet counters accusations that federal work-relief spending was wasteful. Through 17 examples of public projects, it presents the circumstances behind expenditures that critics had ridiculed as government boondoggles.

POLITICS IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION.
Projects include the much-publicized Memphis dog pound, rural school construction, community improvements, public facilities, and other WPA-supported work. Each example uses a paired presentation of THE STORY and THE FACTS to explain the project's purpose, sponsorship, cost, and employment benefits.

NEW DEAL POLITICAL PROPAGANDA.
The pamphlet offers a contemporary example of Democratic political messaging in defense of the Roosevelt administration's public-works and relief programs.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: ILLUSTRATED POLITICAL PAMPHLET.
+++ Stapled paper wrappers with a striking dark cover, diagonally arranged BOONDOGGLE lettering, and a subtitle identifying the Memphis dog-house controversy. +++ The 30-page interior contains 17 project presentations, generally arranged across two-page spreads with black-and-white photographs and explanatory text.
+++ Individual sections use prominent headings, including THE STORY, THE FACTS, WHY THIS PROJECT?, WHO ASKED FOR IT?, HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?, and WPA FURNISHES LABOR.
+++ The rear wrapper carries a publisher's advertisement promoting related political publications.
+++ Published by The Record Publishing Co., Inc., Munsey Building, Washington, D.C., for the Democratic National Committee.

CONDITION: GOOD. The wrappers remain attached, with the binding tight and square. Text is clean, with light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf-handling wear is present, including rubbing along the lower spine edge and minor damage at the wrapper extremities. Minor clear-tape repairs are present inside the front cover.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: CONTEMPORARY DEFENSE OF THE NEW DEAL.
The pamphlet documents the political struggle over federal relief spending during the Great Depression. The word boondoggle, increasingly used by New Deal opponents to ridicule work-relief projects, became a recognizable political weapon during the mid-1930s. 

SEVENTEEN PROJECTS, ONE POLITICAL ARGUMENT.
Rather than simply listing expenditures, this publication attempts to redirect the argument toward practical results: employment provided, local sponsorship, community needs, and the intended benefits of individual projects. Its 17 examples provide a compact visual record of how the Democratic National Committee presented the case for Roosevelt's programs during the 1936 election year.

GENRES: Political pamphlets, New Deal publications, campaign literature, WPA publications, illustrated ephemera, documentary photography.

SUBJECTS: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democratic National Committee, Works Progress Administration, WPA, New Deal, 1936 presidential election, Great Depression, federal work relief, public works, government spending, political propaganda, American political history, Memphis Tennessee, social welfare.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SCARCITY. Searches of the Library of Congress catalog and WorldCat have located no record for this specific pamphlet. While this does not establish rarity, it suggests that this example of 1936 Democratic campaign literature defending the New Deal and WPA may be less readily documented than more widely preserved political publications.

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