Transcript FDR & The New Deal

FDR & The New Deal
Roosevelt Becomes President
 In 1932, it became clear to the American public that the
depression was not improving
 In July, Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the bid from the
Democratic Party to run for President
 Hoover and Roosevelt advocated very different approaches to
fixing the depression:
 Hoover believed that depression relief should come from state and
local government and private agencies
 Roosevelt believed that the federal government should institute new
programs to aid the American people
 In November 1932, FDR won the presidency and took over in
March, 1933
First Hundred Days
 During his first hundred days of office, FDR proposed and Congress
passed 15 new bills
 Collectively, these measures became known as the “First New Deal”
 Main goal: relief (from the immediate hardships of the depression), recovery
(a long-term economic recovery), and reform (to prevent future depressions
of this magnitude)
 Roosevelt would deliver informal radio speeches, known as “fireside
chats” to the American people
 Emergency Banking Bill  gave the President broad powers to deal with
the banking crisis
 Allowed Roosevelt to declare banking holidays (temporary closure of banks)
 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)  insured bank
deposits up to $5,000
 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)  regulates the stock
market and makes it a safer place for investment
Critics of the First New Deal
 Conservatives accused FDR of supporting socialism
 Socialist leaders claimed the New Deal did not do enough to end
the depression
 The American Communist Party described the New Deal as a
“capitalist ruse.”
 Populists, who viewed themselves as the voice of the common
people, challenged that the New Deal was only helping the
American elite
 Roosevelt’s greatest opponents were Francis Townsend, Father
Charles Coughlin, and Huey Long
Critics of the First New Deal
Criticism
of the
New
Deal
Francis Townsend
Father Charles
Coughlin
Huey Long
Believed that the New
Deal was not doing
enough to aid the
elderly. Called for the
federal government to
provide $200 a month
to all citizens over the
age of 60. He
believed that these
funds would filter
down through the rest
of society and help
the economy.
Coughlin claimed
that Roosevelt was
not doing enough to
fight the depression.
He wanted to
nationalize industry
claimed that the
Jews and
Communists were
ruining the country.
Huey Long was a
senator from Louisiana
who used “folksy”
speeches to appeal to
the masses. Long’s
solution to the
depression, called
“Share Our Wealth,”
proposed high taxes on
the wealthy and large
corporations and
redistribution of their
income to the poor.
The Second New Deal
 In the spring of 1935, Congress approved $5 billion for new job
creation, headed by the Works Progress Administration
 The WPA built highways, dredged rivers and harbors, and promoted
soil and water conservation
 Large expenditures by the federal government increased the national
debt from $461 million in 1932 to $4.4 billion in 1936
 However, John Maynard Keynes, a British economist, argued that
deficit spending was necessary to end the depression
 Social Security Act (1935)  established unemployment
insurance, insurance for victims of work-related accidents,
provided aid for poverty-stricken mothers and children, the blind,
and disabled, and created a pension system for the elderly
The Second New Deal
 Rural Electrification Administration (ERA)  loaned money to
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


electric utilities to build power lines
The government funded many water projects around the nation,
including the Central Valley irrigation system in California and the
Bonneville Dam in the Pacific Northwest
Wagner Act  recognized the right of employees to join labor unions
and gave workers the right to collective bargaining (employers had to
negotiate with unions about hours, wages, etc.)
Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)  established a minimum wage and a
maximum work week and outlawed child labor
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)  created by John L.
Lewis, targeted lower paid workers and was more ethnically diverse
than the AFL.
Additional Second New Deal Acts
Program
Year
Effects
Civilian Conservation Corps
19331942
Provided young men with relief jobs on
environmental conversation projects, including
reforestation and flood control
NationalYouth Administration
1935
Trained and provided jobs and counseling for
unemployed youth between the ages of 16 and 25.
Banking Act of 1935
1935
Finalized the creation of the FDIC and made
insurance for bank deposits permanent; created a
board to regulate the nation’s money supply and
interest rates on loans
United States Housing Authority
(USHA)
1937
National Youth Administration
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
1938
Prohibited the mislabeling of food, drugs, and
cosmetics, and ensured the safety and purity of
these products
“Packing” the Court
 On February 5, 1937, Roosevelt gave a special address to
Congress revealing a plan to add six additional judges to the
Supreme Court
 Why meant he do this?
 Roosevelt claimed that since the US Constitution did not specify a
number of justices, he was allowed to add more
 The Supreme Court never needed to add the additional justices to
pass Roosevelt’s Wagner Act
New Deal Effects on Women
 Some women were provided with the opportunity to
increase their political influence and to promote women’s
rights
 Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady, toured the nation, visited
farms, Indian reservations, and coal mines
 The Roosevelt Administration appointed the first female
cabinet member, Francis Perkins, as the Secretary of Labor
 However, many historians argue that the New Deal also
reinforced many traditional gender roles views of the time
New Deal Effects on African Americans
 When the depression first hit, the first group of people to lose
jobs were African Americans
 Unemployment rate was almost 50%, compared to the national 25%
 Black Cabinet  Roosevelt invited many African Americans to
advise him
 Mary McLeod Bethune  member of the Black Cabinet and
founder of the Bethune Cookman College
 However, not everything Roosevelt did was in support of black
rights
 He refused to support an anti-lynching act proposed by the NAACP
New Deal Effects on Native Americans
 It became clear that the Dawes Act of 1887 was not benefitting the
Native Americans
 Indian New Deal  gave Indians economic assistance and greater
control over their own affairs
 Indian Civilian Conservation Corps  aided the construction of
new schools and hospitals on reservations and Indian lands
 Indian Reorganization Act of 1934  restored tribal control over
Native American land
Creation of a New Political Coalition
 By the time Roosevelt passed away in 1945, he had been
elected to the presidency an unprecedented four times
 His ability to unite many different facets of American live
became known as the New Deal Coalition
 This coalition united southern whites, northern blue collar
workers, immigrants, poor Midwestern farmers, and African
Americans
 Roosevelt’s election shifted the traditionally republican vote
of African Americans to democratic
Class Discussion
 How did the New Deal expand the government’s role in the
economy?
 A welfare state is defined as a government that assumes
responsibility for providing for the welfare of children and
the poor, elderly, sick, disabled, and unemployed. How has
American assumed this role?
 How did the establishment of the New Deal change the
nature of the presidency?