Transcript Document
1933 - 1939
Learning Targets
Roosevelt Takes Office
• Election of 1932
Hoover was blamed for much of
the effects of the depression
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
elected president
Program for dealing with
depression called the New Deal
Roosevelt was outgoing,
confident, and gave hope to the
American people
Former governor of New York
Married to his cousin, Eleanor
Roosevelt
Roosevelt Takes Office
• Polio
FDR contracted polio in 1921 which
paralyzed his legs
FDR refused to let people see him
as handicapped – all photos showed
him standing or seated – never in a
wheel chair
FDR established a foundation for
polio victims
Entertainer Eddie Cantor suggested
every American donate a dime
Drive became known as the March
of Dimes and in 1945 FDR’s face was
placed on the dime
First New Deal
• The Hundred Days
First hundred days of FDR’s
administration – flood of bills
passed into law
Emergency Banking Relief Act –
closed all banks and re-opened
those that were financially sound
Fireside Chats – FDR talked over
radio directly to the American
public to explain problems and
solutions
First New Deal
Established Security and
Exchange Commission (SEC) –
regulated stock exchange and
prevented fraud
Glass-Steagall Act – separated
commercial banking from
investment banking
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) – provided
government insurance for bank
deposits up to a certain amount
First New Deal
• Farms
Agricultural Adjustment
Administration (AAA) – paid
farmers not to grow food to raise
crop prices
Killed livestock to raise meat
prices
Large commercial farmers
mostly benefitted
Small farmers, many poor black
and white sharecroppers hurt by
program
First New Deal
• Industry
National Industrial Recovery Act
(NIRA) – suspended anti-trust
laws and allowed businesses,
labor, and government to set up
rules for industry
National Recovery
Administration (NRA) – ran the
program set up by the NIRA.
Businesses that agreed to rules
were given the Blue Eagle to
show participation
First New Deal
• Relief Programs
The Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) – offered jobs to young men
18 – 25 years old building national
parks, working in forests, and
constructing dams
Federal Emergency Relief
Administration (FERA) – gave
money to states to administer
through their relief programs
Public Works Administration (PWA)
– began public construction projects
like dams and roads. Required
companies to hire blacks
First New Deal
Civil Works Administration
(CWA)
Hired workers directly
Employed over 4 million people
Built airports, schools,
playgrounds & parks, and
playing fields
CWA abolished in 1934 and
workers fired
Why?
The Second New Deal
• New Deal programs had not
significantly impacted the
Great Depression
• Unemployment still high
• Government in deficit spending
– government borrowing
money to operate
• FDR gaining opposition from
other groups
The Second New Deal
• Huey Long
Most serious threat
Democratic senator from Louisiana
Populist / Boss of political machine
Attacked the rich
Established 27,000 “Share Our
Wealth” clubs nationwide
If third party candidate in 1936
election could split Democratic vote
and give election to Republicans
Assassinated 1935
The Second New Deal
• Father Coughlin
Catholic Priest – Detroit
Populist
Popular radio show
Called for heavy taxes on
wealthy and nationalization of
banking system
1935 established National Union
for Social Justice – Democrats
feared would become 3rd party
The Second New Deal
• The Townsend Plan
Dr. Francis Townsend
Proposed federal government
pay pension of $200 to every
citizen over age 60
Recipients would have to retire
and spend entire pension check
each month
What would this accomplish?
Elderly politically mobilized –
threatened 1936 election
The Second New Deal
• First New Deal failed to
generate economic recovery
• Second New Deal launched to
speed up recovery
• Works Progress Administration
(WPA)
Employed workers in public
works projects (roads, dams,
airports, etc.)
Artists hired to create murals in
public buildings
Actors & musicians employed
The Second New Deal
• The Supreme Court
New Deal meeting
resistance in Congress
Supreme Court struck
down NIRA in Schecter
v. United States
The Second New Deal
• Rise of Labor Unions
1935 National Labor Relations Act (aka Wagner Act) –
guaranteed right of labor to organize and bargain
collectively
Law established National labor Relations Board –
organized factory elections by secret ballot
Set up process of Binding Arbitration – neutral party
would listen to both sides and decide the issue
The Second New Deal
• The Committee for Industrial
Organization (CIO) – organized labor
where it did not yet exist especially
in auto and steel industries
• Sit-Down Strikes – workers stop
working but refuse to leave the
factory
• CIO grew to largest union – changed
name to Congress of Industrial
Organizations
The Second New Deal
• 1935 Social Security Act
Goal to provide security for
elderly and unemployed workers
Workers paid into the program
Provided monthly retirement
benefit at age 65
Provided unemployment
insurance
Left out farmers and domestics
(65% of black workers)
The New Deal Coalition
• Blacks and women supported
by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
• FDR appointed first female
cabinet member – Frances
Perkins (Secretary of Labor)
• Great Depression turned the
black vote to Democrats
The New Deal Coalition
• The Election of 1936
Republican nominee Alfred
Landon
Left-wing threats to FDR weak
(Huey Long assassinated in 1935)
Union Party formed with
Townsend and Coughlin but had
no leadership
Landslide victory for FDR
The New Deal Coalition
• Court-Packing Plan
Supreme Court declared the AAA
unconstitutional
FDR developed plan to retire some
judges and increase number from 9
to 15
Public saw this as power play – hurt
FDR’s reputation
• Roosevelt Recession
1937 unemployment surged
FDR cut spending – economy
tanked
Keynesian Economics – deficit
spending
The New Deal Coalition
• Last Reforms
National Housing Act – help for
low-cost housing
Farm Security Administration –
gave loans to tenant farmers so
they could purchase farms
Fair Labor Standards Act –
established protection for
workers, abolished child labor,
and established 40-hour work
week
The New Deal Coalition
• Legacy of New Deal
Late 1930’s saw more resistance to
FDR from Republicans and
Southern Democrats
New Deals had limited success in
dealing with Depression
FDR did NOT end the Depression
Federal government had taken far
greater powers
Broker State – US government
working out conflicts between
different groups
Safety Net – safeguards and
programs that protected Americans
from economic disaster