alphabet soup

     During the Great Depression of the 1930's, many people were out of work and had no money. It was very hard to get a job, because so many businesses failed. The federal government, led by the president at the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt (the "FDR" you can see on the dime) started a lot of different programs to help people. Many of these programs were known by their initials--the first letter of each word. The WPA, the NRA, the CCC, the SSA (Social Security Administration--still in existence) were some of these. The set of government programs was called "alphabet soup"  in the press, and the name stuck. Many people thought that Roosevelt was wrong, and that he should leave the economy alone. They were sure that he was only making things worse through government intervention. One of the more accessible books to read, if you're interested, is Studs Terkel's Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression. Terkel interviewed a lot of people about their experiences during the Depression, and collected the interviews in a book.