1936 was a tough year for North Dakota farmers. In February the state set a low temperature record of 60 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit), and a July heatwave hit 120 degrees. Drought delayed the harvest while plagues of grasshoppers devoured what crops remained.

President Franklin Roosevelt created the Resettlement Administration (RA) in 1935 to consolidate and expand government help for impoverished farm families. The RA took bold action to dispel widespread fear and despair in the face of a national crisis. This “New Deal” agency assisted millions of farmers and ranchers with grants, loans, and price supports.

Echoes of F.D.R.’s optimism and his New Deal programs were apparent in candidate Joseph Biden’s pledge to respond boldly to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. In his nomination-acceptance speech he said, “…Franklin Roosevelt pledged a New Deal in a time of massive unemployment, uncertainty, and fear. Stricken by [the polio virus], F.D.R. insisted that he would recover and prevail, and he believed America could as well. And he did. And so can we.”