Chapter 15, Section 1 – Things to Know

How many pieces of legislation did FDR sign into law in the first 100 days in office?

What were the goals of the First New Deal?

What did Roosevelt and Congress pass the day after FDR’s inauguration?

What did Congress do to deal with the banking crisis?

What was the New Deal program that was designed to insure bank deposits?

Why did FDR create the Securities Exchange Commission?

How did the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) help farmers?

Why did critics disapprove the Tennessee Valley Authority?

What did the Civilian Conservation Corps do?

What did the Bonneville Dam and other similar projects do for the American West?

What was the chief complaint of Conservatives against the New Deal?

What did opponents of the New Deal believe it did?

Why was the American Liberty League formed?

Who was the Roman Catholic Priest who criticized the New Deal?

Which opponent of the New Deal believed that the program did not do enough to help poor Americans?

Who was Huey Long?

Chapter 15: The New Deal Section 1: FDR Offers Relief and Recovery

Why It Matters

The Great Depression challenged the faith of Americans that democracy could handle the crisis. Faced with similar circumstances, people in Germany, Italy, and Japan had turned to dictators to deliver them from despair. The New Deal had great significances because America’s response to the Great Depression proved that a democratic society could overcome the challenges presented by the severe economic crisis.

Roosevelt Takes Charge

Unlike the 1928 election where Hoover had no chance of losing the election, the 1932 election showed him no hope of winning the election. The Great Depression took its toll on the country and the presidency. Americans were ready for a change. – In July of 1932, the relatively unknown governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt, accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for President.

Roosevelt Takes Charge

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s History: – As a child, he was born into a wealthy family and experienced all the privileges of an upper-class upbringing.

– In 1905, Franklin married his distant cousin Eleanor Roosevelt. She was the niece of Theodore Roosevelt and fifth cousin of Theodore. In time, Eleanor would become deeply involved in politics. – FDR rose quickly in politics, holding New York Senate, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee.

Roosevelt Takes Charge

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s History: (Cont’d) – While vacationing in the summer of 1921, FDR slipped off his boat into the chilly waters of the North Atlantic. That evening he woke up with a high fever and severe pains in his back and legs. He was later diagnosed with polio, which had no treatment at that time. He never fully recovered from the use of his legs.

– In 1928, not letting his disability overcome him, he was elected the governor of New York and in 1932, he became the Democratic Presidential candidate.

Roosevelt Takes Charge

When Roosevelt pledged a “New Deal” he had only a vague idea of how he intended to combat the depression. – He was convinced that the federal government needed to play an active role in promoting recovery and providing relief to Americans.

– He was put up against Herbert Hoover. Both had opposing beliefs in which the country should go to get out of the looming depression.

– FDR believed that the depression required strong action and leadership by the federal government. – FDR won the election in a landslide, but America would have to wait four long months between his election and his inauguration.

Roosevelt Takes Charge

Soon after election, FDR sought the advice of professionals and academics whom the press nicknamed the “Brain Trust.” – Among this group Democratic FDR chose Republicans Henry Wallace and Harold Ickes, to serve as his Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Interior. – Frances Perkins, a social worker, was chosen as his Secretary of Labor. She became the first woman Cabinet member in US History.

– Throughout his career, FDR depended heavily on his wife, whom he called his “eyes and ears.”

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action

How many pieces of legislation did FDR sign into law in the first 100 days in office?

– He passes 15 pieces of legislation during his first hundred days in office. These measures were known as the First New Deal. – What were the goals of the First New Deal?

Relief, recovery, and reform.

FDR wanted to provide relief from the immense hardships of the depression and achieve long-term economic recovery. He also instituted reforms to prevent future depressions.

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action

What did Roosevelt and Congress pass the day after FDR’s inauguration?

– FDR called Congress into a special session and convinced them to pass the Emergency Banking Bill.

What did Congress do to deal with the banking crisis?

– It passed the Emergency Banking Bill.

– This Bill included the power to declare a four-day bank “holiday,” in which banks were given time to get their accounts in order before they reopened for business.

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action Just eight days after his inauguration, FDR delivered an informal speech to the American people over the radio. This was the first of many of his fireside chats.

– These chats became an important way for the President to communicate with the American people. – Throughout his presidency, FDR headed close to 30 different fireside chats. The American public began to rely on and expect news from the President.

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action

What was the New Deal program that was designed to insure bank deposits?

– The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

insured bank deposits up to $5,000.

It Why did FDR create the Securities Exchange Commission?

– To regulate the stock market and make it a safer place for investments.

– Both of these reforms helped restore confidence in the economy. Runs on banks ended, largely because Americans now had confidence that they would not lose their lifetime savings if a bank failed. – The stock market also stabilized as regulated trading practices reassured investors.

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action

Farmers during the Great Depression were suffering just as much as anyone else. They received some aid from FDR from the Agricultural Adjustment Act.

How did the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) help farmers?

– The AAA sought to end the overproduction of crops and raise crop prices .

– To accomplish these goals, the AAA provided financial aid, paying farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land and to kill off excess livestock. Many believed it to be immoral to kill livestock or destroy crops when there were people starving, but by 1932, farm prices began to rise.

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action

Among the poor rural areas, the Tennessee River Valley residents were among the poorest. – The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created to build a series of dams in the Tennessee River valley to control floods and produce electricity. The TVA also replanted forests, built fertilizer plants, created jobs, and attracted industry with the promise of cheap power.

– Not everyone bought in to the idea. Why did critics disapprove the Tennessee Valley Authority?

– Because it gave the government direct control of a business.

– Other power companies complained because the TVA paid no taxes, making it hard to compete with the TVA.

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action

To counteract the depression’s devastating impact on young men, FDR created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).

– What did the Civilian Conservation Corps do?

It extended job opportunities to Mexican Americans and other minority youth, as well as whites . In total, it created more than 2 million jobs for young men.

– These young men planted forests, built trails, dug irrigation ditches, and fought fires. – This was FDR’s favorite New Deal program.

– The Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) granted federal funds to state and local agencies to help the unemployed. The $500 million appropriated for it represented the largest peacetime expenditure by the federal government to that time.

The First Hundred Days Provide Instant Action

The centerpiece of the First New Deal’s recovery program was the National Industrial Recovery Act, which established the National Recovery Administration. – It developed codes of fair competition to govern whole industries. It created minimum wages for workers and minimum prices for the goods sold.

– The Public Works Administration helped create the Bonneville Dam project, as well as many other projects that are still in use today. – What did the Bonneville Dam and other similar projects do for the American West?

They improved life in the American West.

Opposition to the New Deal Emerges Not everyone was completely sold on what FDR was offering to do for the country. Several of his critics attracted mass followings.

– What was the chief complaint of Conservatives against the New Deal?

That the New Deal gave the government too much power.

They also complained that if was destroying free enterprise and undermining individualism. – What did opponents of the New Deal believe it did?

Others believed it threatened individual freedoms.

A prominent leader in this idea was Robert Taft, William Howard Taft’s son, then a leading Republican in Congress.

Opposition to the New Deal Emerges

In 1934, the critics made the American Liberty League. Supporters included prominent business leaders and 1924 Democratic Presidential nominee John W. Davis. Why was the American Liberty League formed?

– It was formed to oppose FDR’s New Deal .

Other conservatives accused FDR of supporting socialism. American socialists described the New Deal as a “capital ruse.”

Opposition to the New Deal Emerges

FDR’s most significant critics came from the Populist party, mostly because he had his roots in politics with the Populist party.

– The Populists saw themselves as spokesmen for poor Americans, challenging the power of the elite.

– Francis Townsend, a doctor from California, had a simple program. It called for the federal government to provide $200 a month ($2400 a year) to all citizens over the age of 60 in hopes that it would filter out these citizens out of the workforce, producing an economic recovery.

They established “Townsend Clubs” and held meetings that resembled old-time church revivals.

Opposition to the New Deal Emerges

The Populists weren’t the only people that criticized FDR’s policies. Even members of the Roman Catholic Church stepped in to criticize him and his policies.

Who was the Roman Catholic Priest who criticized the New Deal?

– Charles Coughlin . He ran a radio show that attracted millions of listeners .

– At first, Coughlin supported the New Deal, but in time, he broke with FDR, accusing him of not doing enough to fight the depression. He claimed that FDR “out-Hoovered Hoover” and called the New Deal the “Raw Deal.” He claimed that the nationalization of industry with remarks and attacks on “communists” who he said were running the country.

His views became so extreme that Roman Catholic officials forced him to cancel his radio show.

Opposition to the New Deal Emerges

Coughlin, who was Canadian by birth, could not run for President but put his support behind an even more popular New Deal critic, Senator Huey long of Louisiana.

– So, who was Huey Long?

He was a person who opposed the New Deal and introduced a “Share of Wealth” program .

This “Share the Wealth” program proposed high taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, and the redistribution of their income to poor Americans.

FDR viewed Long as a serious political threat, but unlike FDR, Long did not have a deep faith in democracy. In the end, Long made his own enemies by ruling Louisiana as if it was his own state. He was assassinated in 1935 by a political enemy, ending the most serious threat to FDR’s presidency.