This thesis will argue that New Deal legislation accounted for increased importance placed on consumers and the articulation of consumer citizenship as female during the Great Depression. Once New Deal programs and legislation determined and legitimized the consumer citizen, the consumer citizen exercised influence though purchasing power. Analyzing the ways the federal government defined women as consumer citizens through programs like the National Recovery Administration’s Blue Eagle Campaign offers important insight into who was considered to have a voice. Notions of citizenship define groups by who has the necessary attributes and qualifications—in this case the means to purchase goods—to be included. By naming a group, like consumer citizens, those excluded become highlighted. Through these relationships this thesis will examine gender norms, a nation and economy in crisis, consumerism, advertising, citizenship, issues of class, and identity formation. The content of this paper will examine questions such as, who has access to being considered a consumer citizen? What are the limits of consumer citizenship?
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis will argue that New Deal legislation accounted for increased importance placed on consumers and the articulation of consumer citizenship as female during the Great Depression. Once New Deal programs and legislation determined and legitimized the consumer citizen, the consumer citizen exercised influence though purchasing power. Analyzing the ways the federal government defined women as consumer citizens through programs like the National Recovery Administration’s Blue Eagle Campaign offers important insight into who was considered to have a voice. Notions of citizenship define groups by who has the necessary attributes and qualifications—in this case the means to purchase goods—to be included. By naming a group, like consumer citizens, those excluded become highlighted. Through these relationships this thesis will examine gender norms, a nation and economy in crisis, consumerism, advertising, citizenship, issues of class, and identity formation. The content of this paper will examine questions such as, who has access to being considered a consumer citizen? What are the limits of consumer citizenship?</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wetmore, Danielle B"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Liberal Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Tanya Agathocleous","Cindy Lobel"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:39Z","subjects":["American Material Culture","American Popular Culture","Cultural History","History of Gender","Labor History","Other American Studies","Other Film and Media Studies","United States History","Visual Studies","Women's History","New Deal","National Recovery Administration","Blue Eagle Campaign","Great Depression","Consumerism"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3772","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Tanya Agathocleous","Cindy Lobel"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wetmore, Danielle B"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-04-27T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Liberal Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American Material Culture","American Popular Culture","Cultural History","History of Gender","Labor History","Other American Studies","Other Film and Media Studies","United States History","Visual Studies","Women's History","New Deal","National Recovery Administration","Blue Eagle Campaign","Great Depression","Consumerism"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3772"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis will argue that New Deal legislation accounted for increased importance placed on consumers and the articulation of consumer citizenship as female during the Great Depression. Once New Deal programs and legislation determined and legitimized the consumer citizen, the consumer citizen exercised influence though purchasing power. Analyzing the ways the federal government defined women as consumer citizens through programs like the National Recovery Administration’s Blue Eagle Campaign offers important insight into who was considered to have a voice. Notions of citizenship define groups by who has the necessary attributes and qualifications—in this case the means to purchase goods—to be included. By naming a group, like consumer citizens, those excluded become highlighted. Through these relationships this thesis will examine gender norms, a nation and economy in crisis, consumerism, advertising, citizenship, issues of class, and identity formation. The content of this paper will examine questions such as, who has access to being considered a consumer citizen? What are the limits of consumer citizenship?
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Promoting the Consumer Citizen: Seals, Spectacles, and the Gendered Consumer in Depression-Era America"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Tanya Agathocleous","Cindy Lobel"],"dc:creator":["Wetmore, Danielle B"],"dc:date.available":["2020-04-27T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis will argue that New Deal legislation accounted for increased importance placed on consumers and the articulation of consumer citizenship as female during the Great Depression. Once New Deal programs and legislation determined and legitimized the consumer citizen, the consumer citizen exercised influence though purchasing power. Analyzing the ways the federal government defined women as consumer citizens through programs like the National Recovery Administration’s Blue Eagle Campaign offers important insight into who was considered to have a voice. Notions of citizenship define groups by who has the necessary attributes and qualifications—in this case the means to purchase goods—to be included. By naming a group, like consumer citizens, those excluded become highlighted. Through these relationships this thesis will examine gender norms, a nation and economy in crisis, consumerism, advertising, citizenship, issues of class, and identity formation. The content of this paper will examine questions such as, who has access to being considered a consumer citizen? What are the limits of consumer citizenship?
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