Transcript New Deal
Did these actions help or hinder the United States in
its Efforts to Rise From the Depression?
Roosevelt Takes Office in 1932
Roosevelt takes office in the middle of the Great
Depression, many had been out of work over 3 years
“Brain Trust,” a group of advisers made up of
professors, lawyers, and journalists
Set of policies to relieve the problems plaguing many
Americans
New Deal, phrase from a campaign speech in which
Roosevelt had promised, “a new deal for the American
people.”
“The Only Thing We Have to Fear is
Fear Itself” Franklin D. Roosevelt
Initiated policies that supported and regulated
agriculture and industry
Legislation improved labor conditions and increased
power of the unions
Programs of the New Deal: CWA, TVA, FDIC, SEC,
Social Security
New Deal created much needed job, including new
opportunities for women and minority groups
Focus of New Deal
Three general goals:
a. Relief for the needy
b. Economic Recovery
c. Financial Reform
Period of intense activity, known as the Hundred Days,
from March 9-June 16, 1933.
Congress passed more than 15 major pieces of New
Deal legislation
Banking and Financial Reform
Day Roosevelt took office, March 5, declared a bank
holiday
Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass Emergency
Banking Relief Act
Emergency Banking Relief Act: allowed US Treasury
to inspect banks. If a bank was unable to pay debts, it
remained closed
Americans began to regain confidence in banks
Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats
Started March 12, 1933, if banks solvent, it was allowed
to reopen
Set up fireside chat radio programs to discuss his
concerns and detail policies on the New Deal
First chat centered on restoring financial system
“We have provided the machinery to restore our
financial system. It is up to you to support and make it
work.”
Roosevelt explained that banks invests your deposit.
People demanding cash cause banks to fail
Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933
Established Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC), which provided federal insurance for
individual bank account of less than $5,000.
Regulated Stock Market with the Federal Securities
Act, corporations required to provide complete
information on all stock offerings. Corporations held
responsible for stocks.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
created in 1934 regulated stock market to prevent
insiders from rigging market
Alcohol Bills
21st Amendment: 1933, repealed the prohibition
amendment
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
Raised crop prices by lowering production
Government paid farmers to leave part of every acre
unseeded
Lower supply, demand would rise so would cost
Cotton workers were paid $200 million to plow under
10 million acres
This act was controversial because so many were
hungry and when Hog farmers were paid to slaughter
6 million pigs, this angered many people
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
1933, Men 18-25 given jobs, $30/month with $25 of it
sent home to families, given free food and uniforms
Built roads, developed parks, planted trees and helped
soil erosion and flood-controlled projects
Ended in 1942: 3 million men had worked with CCC
and planted in 8 years over 200 million trees
Many of these jobs were in the Great Plains to prevent
another Dust Bowl
Federal Emergency Relief
Administration (FERA)
1933, funded with $500 million to provide direct relief
for the needy
Half of the money went to the states as direct grantsin-aid to help furnish food and clothing to the
unemployed, the aged, and the ill
Additional $250 million distributed on the basis of one
federal dollar for every three state dollars
Harry Hopkins headed the program, believed that
money helped people buy food, but work gave them
confidence and self-respect
Public Works Administration (PWA)
1933, provided money to states to create jobs
Mostly in construction of schools and other
community buildings
When these programs failed, Roosevelt created the
CWA
Civil Works Administration (CWA)
1933 after PWA failed
Provided 4 million jobs
Criticized by many because the jobs were viewed as
busy work and wasting money
CWA built over 40,000 schools and paid the salaries of
50,000 school teachers
Half a million miles of roads were built
National Industrial Recovery Act
(NIRA)
1933, Promoted industrial growth by establishing codes of
fair practice for individual industries
Created National Recovery Administration (NRA) to set
prices of products to ensure fair competition
NRA established standards for working hours and a ban on
child labor
NRA promoted recovery by interrupting wages cuts, falling
prices and layoffs
Established workers’ rights to unionize and bargain
collectively
Many felt this act served large businesses
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
1933, focused on Tennessee River valley
Created thousands of jobs and provided flood control,
hydroelectric power, and other benefits to the region
Home Owners Loan Corporation
(HOLC)
1933 provided government loans to homeowners who
faced foreclosure because they could not make their
loan payments
National Housing Act (NHA)
1933, created the Federal Housing Administration
(FHA), which continues today providing loans for
home mortgages and repairs
Protests Against New Deal
After first 100 days, many felt that the New Deal
interfered with the workings of a free market economy
1935, Supreme Court struck down the NIRA as
unconstitutional, declaring that the law gave
legislative power to the executive branch
Enforcement of industry codes within stats went
beyond federal government’s constitutional powers
1936, AAA was struck down due to agriculture being a
local matter and should be regulated by the states
Roosevelt’s Response to Supreme
Court
1937, proposed that Congress enact a court-reform bill
that would reorganize the federal judiciary and allow
him to appoint six new Supreme Court justices
Seen as “court packing” and Roosevelt was criticized
for violating separation of powers
Rulings in the Supreme Court began to be more in
Roosevelt’s favor without this action because of
resignations
Roosevelt was able to appoint 7 new justices in the
next 4 years
American Liberty League
1934, made up of wealthy business leaders such as Al
Smith, John W. Davis
Opposed New Deal because it was believed that it violated
respect for the rights of individuals and property
Charles Coughlin, Francis Townsend and Huey Long felt
the poor suffered more with the New Deal
Father Coughlin favored a guaranteed annual income and
nationalization of banks
Dr. Townsend devised a pension plan to provide monthly
benefits, but this was too expensive
Senator Long proposed a nationwide social program, Share
Our Wealth
Second New Deal
Also known as the Second Hundred Days
Focus on farmers, workers and poor, the “forgotten
man”
Eleanor Roosevelt played a role in social reform
aspects of the New Deal
Soil Conservation and Domestic
Allotment Act
1936, to replace AAA, which was struck down
Paid farmers for cutting production of soil-depleting
crops like cotton and wheat
Rewarded farmers for practicing good soil
conservation methods
Second Agricultural Act 1938 passed with out the
unconstitutional processing tax to pay for farm
subsidies
“Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck illustrated the
struggling farmers
Resettlement Administration
1935, to help sharecroppers, migrant workers and poor
farmers
Designed to loan money to small farmers to buy land
1937, replaced by the Farm Security Administration
(FSA), loaned more than $1 billion to help tenant
farmers by forming a network of migrant farmer
camps
FSA sent photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Ben
Shaun, Walker Evans to take pictures of rural towns
and farms
Works Progress Administration
(WPA)
Created jobs on largest public works budget ($5
billion)
1935-1943 employed over 8 million people
Built 850 airports
Constructed or repaired 651,000 miles of roads and
streets
Built 110,000 libraries, schools and hospitals
Sewed over 300 million garments for the needy
Gave a sense of hope and purpose to many workers
National Youth Administration
(NYA)
More than 2 million high school and college students
worked part-time clerical positions at their schools
1936, more than 200,000 students received aid and
assistance through NYA
Wagner Act
Reestablished NIRA provision of collective bargaining
Listed unfair labor practices that companies could not use
such as threatening workers, firing union members, and
interfering with unions
Set up National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hear
testimony and unfair practices and hold elections to find
out if they wanted union representation
Fair Labor Standards Act 1938 to establish maximum hours
and minimum wages
FLSA set minimum hourly rate at 25 cents/hour then by
1940, it was 40 cents. National maximum work week of 44
hours and in 2 years 40 hours. Banned factory labor
workers under 16 years old (18 yrs if work hazardous)
Social Security Act
1935 by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins
3 Parts: a) old age insurance for retirees 65 or older
and their spouses ($10-85/month) Groups excluded:
domestic servants, farm workers, many hospital and
restaurant workers, b) Unemployed compensation
system ($15-18/week), c) Aid to families with
dependent children and the disabled
Rural Electrification Act (REA)
Created, financed and worked with rural and farm
electrical cooperatives to bring electric to rural areas
1935 30% of American farms had electricity, 1945 45%,
1951 90%
Public Utilities Holding Company
Act
1935 aim to fight financial corruption in the public
utility industry
Outlawed ownership of utilities by multiple holding
companies
New Deal
Helped different minority groups as well such as
women, African Americans, Latinos and Native
Americans
Eleanor Roosevelt opened many doors for African
Americans, particularly the performance of Marian
Anderson in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 to strengthen Native
American land claims by prohibiting the government
from taking unclaimed reservation lands and selling
them to people other than Native Americans
New Deal Coalition
An alignment of diverse groups dedicated to
supporting the Democratic Party
Enabled Democrats to dominate politics in the 1930s
and 1940s
Impact of New Deal
To avoid deficit spending, President Roosevelt did not
launch a Third New Deal
Conservatives felt that Roosevelt made the federal
government too large and it had stifled free enterprise
and individual initiative
Liberals felt that Roosevelt did not do enough to
socialize the economy and eliminate social and
economic inequalities