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Collected Item: “A Letter From the President”

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A Letter From the President

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

Letter

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

Received in early May, the letter, bearing the president's stamp, informs the recipient of their stimulus payment made possible by the CARES Act; an act of Congress that pumped over $2 trillion into a once robust US economy now crippled by the coronavirus and the states' subsequent lockdowns. Furthermore, this artifact reflects the virus's growing politicization during a contentious campaign year, with the incumbent president attempting to revive the US economy despite the grave threat posed by COVID-19's onslaught. Letters, such as this, that were "signed" by the president angered many within the US, as they viewed this as a politically-motivated stunt, thus reflecting the festering political divide that has only been made worse as COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across the world.

Northeastern JOTPY

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#CARESAct, #stimulus, #economicrelief, #politics, #45president

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

US Government

Give this story a date.

2020-04-29
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