Transcript Slide 1

Mr. Judd
Streetsboro High School
Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
First Inaugural Address
March 4, 1933
History Sound Bite
“The only thing
we have to fear
is fear itself.”
The New Deal, a phrase taken
from a campaign speech in which
Roosevelt had promised “a new
deal for the American people”,
focused on three general goals:
1) relief for the needy
2) economic recovery
3) financial reform
The First 100 Days
Roosevelt’s first step as president
was to carry out reforms in banking
and finance.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) -provided federal insurance for
individual bank accounts of up to
$5,000.
Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC)- regulate the stock market by
preventing people with inside information
about companies from “rigging” the
stock market for their own profit.
While working on banking and financial matters, the Roosevelt administration also
implemented programs to provide relief to farmers, perhaps the hardest hit by
the depression.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) created
thousands of jobs building dams and provided
flood control and hydroelectric power for an
impoverished region.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act
(AAA) sought to raise farm
prices by paying farmers to
slaughter hogs and leave land
unseeded. The theory was that
reduced supply would boost
prices.
The Public
Works
Administration
(PWA),
created as part
of the National
Recovery
Act (NRA),
provided money
to states to
create jobs
chiefly in the
construction of
schools and
other
community
buildings.
Did You Know?
The Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC):
•Provided almost 3 million men
aged 18-25 with work and wages
between 1933-42.
•Planted over 3 billion trees,
developed over 800 state parks,
and built more than 46,000
bridges
•Were paid $30 dollars a month,
of which $25 was automatically
sent home to the worker’s family
. The Legacy of the CCC
Roosevelt gave many fireside chats, or
radio talks, to explain issues and/or
lift people’s morale during the depression.
•FDR was elected to four
consecutive terms
as president: 1932, 1936,
1940 and 1944. His lengthy
term inspired the 22nd
Amendment.
•FDR was the 5th cousin of
Theodore Roosevelt.
•FDR struggled with polio.
Only two photos exist of him
in a wheelchair.
•FDR died while posing for
a portrait at his Warm Springs,
Georgia home in April, 1945.
New Deal Comes Under Attack
• Conservative critics
argued that Roosevelt
spent too much on direct
relief and used New Deal
policies to control
businesses and socialize
the economy. Many
critics believed the New
Deal interfered with the
workings of a free-market
economy.
John Maynard Keynes
Late British economist
and promoter of deficit
spending
President Roosevelt reluctantly agreed to a policy of deficit spendingspending more money than the government receives in revenue. In theory,
deficit spending would jump start the economy by giving consumers more
money to spend on goods and services thus fueling economic growth.
Obama and a “new” New Deal
A *New* New Deal
Is Obama's Recovery Act the new New Deal
Perhaps the most serious challenge
to the New Deal came from Senator
Huey Long of Louisiana. Like Robin
Hood, his program would empower
the government to confiscate wealth
from the rich through taxes and then
provide a guaranteed minimum
income and a home to every
American family.
Senator Huey Long
Other “Voices of Protest”
Dr. Francis
Townsend
proposed that
the federal
government
pay citizens
over the age of
60 a pension of
$200 a month.
Recipients
would have to
retire and
spend their
entire pension
check each
month.
Father Charles Coughlin, a
Catholic priest from Detroit,
called for the government to
inflate currency and nationalize
the banking system.
Angered that the Court had
declared several of his New
Deal measures unconstitutional,
Roosevelt called attention to the
ages of the justices, labeling
them “Nine Old Men,” and
asked congress to allow him
to appoint one new justice for
each of those 70 or older, up to
six new justices. Critics charged
that this “court-packing” would
tamper the delicate balance of
legislative, executive, and
judicial powers.
•Banking and finance are
reformed
•Government takes a more
active role in the economy
•Workers benefit from labor
standards
•Social Security system
continues to provide
security
•Conservation efforts
continue to preserve the
environment