FDR & The New Deal Programs

Coach Lyons U.S. History

THE FIRST NEW DEAL this was the name FDR gave

to his new program to fight the Depression

it was a revolution in American society - changed completely the way the gov't functions

the first phase of the New Deal dealt exclusively w/ eco. reform - unlike Hoover, FDR believed gov't legislation/involvement was crucial to stimulate the economy

step 1 - dealt w/ the banking crisis - BANKING HOLIDAY- banks shut down and subject to gov't inspection, allowed to open when "healthy"- people's confidence returned they redeposited, allowing banks to invest in the economy

step 2 - stock market reform- Security Exchange Commission est. to police the NYSE (first chmn. was Joseph P. Kennedy)- practice of buying on margin was regulated

step 3 - to put more $ in circulation, FDR went off the GOLD STANDARD (gov't could print more $ than Fort Knox gold reserves would allow)- w/ more $ in circulation, wages and prices increased(= inflation), causing dollar value to lower- gave gov't spending power (Keynesian economics)

SPECIFIC PIECES OF LEGISLATION (direct gov't intervention in the eco.)(called

"Alphabet Soup") NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL

RECOVERY ACT (NIRA) and NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMIN (NRA) were established to end animosity b/n labour and business all was redirected to industrial growth fair labour codes established - wages, no child labour, shortened work hours- business people challenged the NRA, claiming it was communist

they formed the LIBERTY LEAGUE - at LL's urging, the Supreme Ct. overturned the NIRA & NRA, claiming that fed. gov't was exceeding its authority (by interfering in state jurisdiction)

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (TVA) - used to promote hydroelectric power, control flooding - lower rates private industry, manuf. fertilizer fed. gov't. took ownership (nationalization v. privatization)

Kansas Cityfrom Politics, Farming, & the Law

Thomas Hart Benton,1936

The Annual Moveby Otis Dozier, 1936

The Annual Moveby Otis Dozier, 1936

Construction of the Dam

by William Gropper

Construction of the Dam

by William Gropper

Brain Trust and Black Cabinet

Roosevelt’s Brain Trust: College Professor’s, Experts in various fields,

Roosevelt’s Black Cabinet: William H. Hastie, Robert C. Weaver,Mary McCleod

Bethune

AGRUCULTURAL ADJUSTMENT ACT (AAA) - passed in 1933 to aid farmers- its objective was to restore farmers' purchasing power and to restore the family farm - AAA had farmers cut back on crop production by paying them equivalent SUBSIDIES (paid not to produce) - bad side:

1) food production down when millions were starving

2) Black sharecroppers were hurt: white landowners paid not to farm so they got rid of Black tenant formers

in 1935, AAA was declared unconstitutional by courts (too much control over individual states), so it was revised and introduced as new legislation

EX: Food Stamp Act of 1939 - gave away surplus food to poor, also guaranteed (small) farmers a market

UNEMPLOYMENT - still a major problem

FDR like Hoover was wary of gov't handouts - he wanted people to earn their keep so gov't agencies were created - temporarily - to address the unemp. problem

CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS (CCC) - in 1933 - set to establish work for young men (18-25) in areas of reforestation, soil conservation, flood control, road construction - also took them out of urban labour markets - but Blacks not permitted to enroll

other agencies had specific mandates too...NATIONAL YOUTH ADMIN. (NYA) - created jobs for young in urban areas

FED. EMERGENCY RELIEF ACT (FERA) - aimed at older workers- these and other similar agencies worked well, but unemp. was still at 6 million in 1941(solution for this would be the ind. boom of WW2)

NEW DEAL - SOCIAL REFORM ASPECT- after 1935, w/ immediate economic relief & reform addressed, New Deal turned to Social Welfare - more legislation...

National Labour Relations Act (aka Wagner Act)- it legitimized unions and labour tactics such as collective bargaining & collective action (strikes, etc...) - it outlawed BLACKLISTS & other anti-union practices

Social Security Act (1935)- feared by opponents as "creeping socialism"- this act typifies the WELFARE STATE - unemployment insurance, old age pensions

Problem: it took some $ out of circulation (payroll deductions) at a time when purchasing power was already low- also, it only covered the unemployed

1936 - "Soak The Rich" tax

ELECTION OF 1936 - FDR won easily (v Repub. Alf Landon - Kansas governor)

this victory gave FDR a mandate to continue his New Deal policies

first objective: to reorganize the Supreme Court - they disallowed some New Deal legislation

FDR wants # of judges changed from 9 15 (to "pack the court") - great opposition, so FDR w/drew this proposal

but judges retired & FDR got to appoint new ones they approved all New Deal legislation

the late 1930's – new Qs arose…

FDR concerned w/ int'l issues

in 1939 he proposed no new major domestic reform measures (1st time in his pres.)

ELECTION OF 1940 - FDR broke with tradition & ran a 3rd time

FDR v. Wendell Wilkie - the big issue here was American support of the Allies (G.B.), now embroiled in WWII v. Nazi Ger.

both U.S. pol. parties wanted to support G.B. but to remain neutral - in fact a CONSENSUS had developed b/n the Dems. and Repubs.

both parties approved of (most) New Deal legislation & wanted an isolationist foreign policy- FDR won in 1940 (and again in 1944)

IMPACT OF THE NEW DEAL

a 3rd revolution in American culture and politics- more gov't involvement but w/in the context of traditional U.S. democracy (not socialist…)

New Deal helped in stimulating the U.S. economy, but only WWII would solve any lingering problems unemployed found jobs in munitions factories and the military as the U.S. became the ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY

New Deal saw expansion of U.S. gov't in :1) eco. - constant gov't intervention/deficit spending 2) social reform - welfare state - after this pt the U.S. gov't was expected to play a role in any economic crisis

so FDR fundamentally reformed (not transformed) American society…

CH. 15 A NEW DEAL FIGHTS THE

DEPRESSION

The Americans

Federal Programs

Established the FDICTo restore public confidence in banks

Required corporations to provide complete information on all stock offerings

To restore public confidence in the stock market

1. Emergency Banking Relief Act

3. Federal Securities Act

2. Glass-Steagall Banking Act

•Business Assistance and Reform

4. National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

Set prices, established labor standards

To ensure fair business practices and to promote industrial growth

Federal Programs

Built and repaired dams and other projects in the Tennessee Valley

To create prosperity in the impoverished Tennessee Valley

Put young men to work on road building and conservation projects

To reduce unemployment

5. Agricultural Adjustment Act

(AAA)

7. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

6. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

•Farm Relief and Rural Development

8. Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Provided direct relief for the needy

To provide for the basic needs of the people hit hardest by the Depression

Paid farmers to lower production

To raise crop prices and restore farm income

•Employment Projects

9. Public Works Administration (PWA)

Provided money to states to create jobs

To reduce unemployment

10. Civil Works Administration (CWA)

Provided 4 million immediate jobs

To reduce unemployment

Federal Programs

11. Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC)

•Housing

Provided government loans to homeowners who faced foreclosure

To help families keep their homes

Explain who Huey Long was and why he is a significant historical figure.

Huey Long as a spokesman for the poor; a governor of Louisiana and later it’s U.S. Senator; and early supporter of the New Deal who turned against Roosevelt. His Share the Wealth proposal was extremely popular nationwide. He was assassinated in 1935 at the height of his popularity.

Soil depletion, inability to buy land, squalid housing, dust storms, debt, foreclosures, lack of electricity

Soil Conservation and domestic Allotment Act, Resettlement Act, Farm Security Administration, Rural Electrification, AdministrationPoverty, Unemployment,

hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Works Progress Administration, National Youth Administration

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Works Progress Administration

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Works Progress Administration, National Youth Administration, Wagner Act, Fair Labor Standards Act

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Social Security Act

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Social Security Act

She traveled the country to observe the conditions; helped shape New Deal policies; prodded her husband to appoint women to governmental positions; was a great advocate for the people.

Soil depletion, inability to buy land, squalid housing, dust storms, debt, foreclosures, lack of electricity

Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, Resettlement Act, Farm Security Administration, Rural Electrification Administration

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Works Progress Administration, National Youth Administration

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Works Progress Administration

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Works Progress Administration, National Youth Administration, Wagner Act, Fair Labor Standards Act

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Social Security Act

Poverty, Unemployment, hopelessness, loss of dignity, lack of spending money

Social Security Act

She traveled the country to observe the conditions; helped shape New Deal policies; prodded her husband to appoint women to governmental positions; was a great advocate for the people.

Federal Writers Project

Frances Perkins – Sec. of Labor

Women appointed to important federal positions, slight increase in the number of women working outside the home.

Discrimination in the workplace; discriminatory wages; discriminatory hiring practices.

Mary McLeod Bethune; William H. Hastie; Robert C. Weaver

Increased political voice through greater access to the president; organizations created for tenant farmers.

Segregation; racial violence; discrimination in all areas of life.

Congress of Industrial Organization

Better working conditions; increased bargaining power; dramatic increase in union membership.

Strike violence; big business opposition to labor unions.

Southern

whites; various urban groups; immigrants; various religious and ethnic groups

New Deal labor laws and work-relief programs aided many of them; Roosevelt made a direct and persuasive appeals to them; Roosevelt appointed many officials of urban-immigrant backgrounds.

Collier was commissioner of Indian Affairs and a strong advocate of Native American rights; he helped to create the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which restored some reservation lands to tribal ownership.

Film

Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, (Margaret Mitchell)

Life among Southern during the Civil War

Life among South during the Civil War

Film

Created by: Frank Capra

Honest, kindhearted people winning out over greedy special interests.

Radio drama or book

Orson WellesMartian invasion of Earth

Play

Clifford Odets Labor struggles of the 1930’s

Novel (book) Richard

Wright

Difficulties faced by a young man trying to survive in a racist world.

Novel (book)

John SteinbeckDifficulties of Oklahomans who leave the Dust Bowl for California

Play

Thorton WilderWarmth and beauty of small-town life in New England.

Painting

Grant Wood Two stern faced-faced farmers; rural life during the Depression

Wagner Act; Fair Labor Standards Act; National Labor Relations Board

Standards for wages and hours; ban on child labor; rights to organize and bargain collectively; government mediation on labor disputes.

Agricultural Adjustment Acts, Soil Conservation Service

Aid to farmers, farm price supports, taught contour plowing, terracing, crop rotation

Securities and Exchange Commission; Glass-Steagall Banking Act; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Monitoring of the stock market; federal enforcement of laws regarding the sale of stocks and bonds; insurance on bank accounts

Civilian Conservation Corps; Soil Conservation Service; Taylor Grazing Act; Tennessee Valley Authority

Federal government's acceptance of some responsibility for the social welfare or it’s citizens; old-age insurance program; unemployment compensation system; programs to aid families with dependent children and the disabled.

Social Security Act

Programs protecting the nation’s natural resources, including farmland; prevention of floods and dust storms; more national parks and wildlife refugees; pollution.