The New Deal social works programs were called “alphabet soup agencies.” One of the boldest and most far reaching of those programs was the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The NRA’s symbol was the Blue Eagle, and it was displayed proudly by its supporters in the windows of their businesses. The NRA was an effort to create a controlled economy and was based on the principle of industrial self-regulation under government supervision through a system of fair competition codes. In an effort to eliminate “cut throat” competition, codes were established for specific industries that set wages, practices and prices. The NRA provided various labor reforms including guaranteeing the right to organize and bargain collectively. Child labor was banned. Blacks were not hired for NRA projects on equal terms or for equal pay. They referred to the NRA as “Negroes Ruined Again”. (Lawson, Jim Crow’s Counterculture: The Blues and Black Southerners, p. 156.)
Every major city throughout the U.S. staged elaborate parades and other events to celebrate what was perceived as the “death of Old Man Depression.” But by 1935 much of the enthusiasm was gone for the NRA, and on May 27, 1935, the Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional. The decision implied that it would be unconstitutional for the Federal government to deal with a national industrial or social or agricultural problem by dictating to individual factories, stores, or farmers what they should do. “Extraordinary conditions do not create or enlarge constitutional power.” (Allen, Since Yesterday: 1929-1939, pp. 154-155.) Congress then passed the Wagner Act, which created the National Labor Relations Board, which was charged with administering the worker’s right to organize and collective bargaining.
“Death of the Blue Eagle,” written and recorded by George Davis (https://youtu.be/P82HzA9PV_c), concerns the ending of the short-lived NRA. This song presents a popular interpretation: “the eagle (symbol of the NRA) went down shouting ‘Hurray for one and all,’ but most folks couldn’t take it, they had to let it fall.” The implication is strongly suggested that although the NRA benefited all, people couldn’t accept that and took unfair advantage of the act. (John Cohen, liner notes for “When Kentucky Had No Mining Men” Folkways Records FA 2343; 1967.)
The other day my paper came,
I set and scratched my head,
While turning through its pages, boys,
Here is what I read.
”The blue eagle he is ailing,”
The little writer said,
But when he finished writing
That eagle he was dead.Now there’s a man in Washington,
Roosevelt is his name
And how he’s a-mourning o’er that bird,
It is an awful shame.
He told Hugh S. Johnson,
And Johnson said, ”Mine God”
What can the miners ever do
Without their blue mascot?The eagle went down shouting
Hurray for one and all,
But most folks couldn’t take it,
They had to let it fall.
They took him to the graveyard,
In the merry month of May,
Said, “Who will solve our problems now,
There’s no NRA?”But we have an order, boys,
The UMW of A,
And we must all stick to it
Until the judgment day.
But if you’re undecided, boys,
And don’t know what to do,
Just think how much a ton you got
In nineteen thirty-two.
“NRA Blues” was written and sung by Bill Cox (1933). (https://youtu.be/RS5ZazoXUyg) The song is presented from the point of view of an exploited worker whose boss has not yet joined the NRA. Despite its title, “NRA Blues” is not a lament. It praises the agency for its attempts to combat unemployment and other evils of the Depression.
I work down in the ‘ol sweat shop, sweet thing, sweet thing
I work down in the ‘ol sweat shop
Work like a mule and never stop
Sweet thing, yes baby mineWhen you gonna join the NRA, sweet thing, sweet thing
When you gonna join the NRA
I never have heard the big boss say
Sweet thing, yes baby mineI’ve got the blues, I’ve got them NRA blues
Lord I got them NRA bluesWhen payday come gonna get my check, sweet thing, sweet thing
When payday come gonna get my check
All I get’s just a little wee speck
Sweet thing, yes baby mineWhen you’re working for the NRA, sweet thing, sweet thing
When you’re working for the NRA
You’ll get short hours and get same pay
Sweet thing, yes baby mineI’ve got the blues, I’ve got them NRA blues
Lord I got them NRA bluesThe rich men’s all on easy street, sweet thing, sweet thing
The rich men’s all on easy street
And the poor man can’t get enough to eat
Sweet thing, yes baby mineWhen you all join the NRA, sweet thing, sweet thing
When you all join the NRA
We’ll all feel happy and all feel gay
Sweet thing, yes baby mineI’ve got the blues, I’ve got them NRA blues
Lord I got them NRA blues