15.2: The Second New Deal Takes Hold

How did the Second New Deal change the lives of our citizens?

The Second Hundred Days

• The economy improved in FDR’s first two years, but not by much; in spite of that, the New Deal was still very popular

• FDR launched a second wave of reforms, or changes, which became known as the Second New Deal

• These programs were designed to help poor people

• FDR’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, traveled around the country reporting on the suffering of the poor to her husband, and spoke up for women and minorities

Continued

• The 1936 election was an overwhelming victory for FDR, Democrats, and the New Deal

• It marked the first time most African Americans voted Democratic, and the first time labor unions supported a single candidate

Helping Farmers

• Things were still tough for farmers in the mid 1930s

• The first AAA had helped some farmers before being struck down by the Supreme Court

• Now, Congress passed new laws to replace the first AAA; one program paid farmers to use soil conservation measures in managing their land

• Other laws helped sharecroppers and tenant farmers by providing loans to help farmers buy land and provided better housing for migrant workers

FDR Extends Relief

• A new agency called the Works Progress Administration (WPA) set out to create jobs as quickly as possible

• The WPA used millions of workers to build airports, roads, libraries, schools, and hospitals

• Some people criticized the WPA as a make-work program that created useless jobs simply for a paycheck

• Today we value it due to its creation of works of lasting value and the sense of hope and dignity it gave its workers, including teachers and members of the arts community

Continued

• The National Youth Administration (NYA) provided aid and part-time jobs to many high school and college students, which allowed them to get an education even in tough economic times

Improving Labor and Other Reforms

• The Second New Deal created important reforms for labor

• Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act to replace the NIRA, which was struck down by the Supreme Court

• This law is often called the Wagner Act, which supported workers’ right to collective bargaining and banned unfair labor practices

• It set up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to enforce these reforms

Continued

• The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set maximum hours and a minimum wage for the first time, and set a workweek of 44 hours and banned child labor in factories

• The Social Security Act was one of the most important achievements of the New Deal:– It supplied old-age insurance that workers paid into

throughout their lives– Unemployment compensation for those who lost jobs– RAid to the disabled and families with children