FDR and the New Deal

How did the government try to fix the economy and help people out

during the Great Depression?

Just how depressing WAS this “Great” depression?

• "In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which you could base hope, but as I look about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope—nothing of man.“

– Former President Calvin Coolidge, 1932

- Actual dictionary.com definition of an economic depression: a sustained economic recession in which a nation's Gross National Product (GNP) is falling and marked by low production and sales and a high rate of business failures and unemployment

…and what is the government’s attitude concerning those affected?

• "Three or four million heads of households don't turn into tramps and cheats overnight, nor do they lose the habits and standards of a lifetime... They don't drink any more than the rest of us, they don't lie any more, they're no lazier than the rest of us.... An eighth or a tenth of the earning population does not change its character which has been generations in the molding, or, if such a change actually occurs, we can scarcely charge it up to personal sin.“

– Federal relief administrator Harry Hopkins, 1933

Franklin Roosevelt: The Second-Best Roosevelt!

• Had the first female cabinet member: Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor

• Had polio as a child and, as a result, was in a wheelchair. He hid this VERY well from the public.

• Was elected FOUR times!• His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, is the source of

some very cool quotes and worked on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Eleanor Roosevelt QuotesDo what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized

anyway. You'll be d------ if you do, and d----- if you don't.

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Women are like teabags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water!

When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?

FDR’s Cure for the Great Depression• FDR started working right after he was elected to help with

the problems the people in America were experiencing because of the Great Depression

• Some of his programs were eventually declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but the programs did a lot of good before they were stopped!

• His many ideas fit into three basic categories:– Relief: immediate action taken to help the economy from

getting worse and to help people survive– Recovery: temporary programs to help get people buying things

again (restart demand of goods)– Reform: permanent changes to prevent another economic

catastrophe

The New Deal• Set of economic programs passed by Congress from 1933 to

1937 designed to fix/improve America’s economy• Instead of just giving away money, the New Deal set up jobs for

people• Remember: Relief, Recovery, and Reform• The First Hundred Days: many programs were passed right after

FDR took office – We are just going to learn about a few of them– Now they track the first hundred days for every president– Congress passed everything FDR wanted during this time– 1933: Remember how he closed the banks (bank holiday) and made

the FDIC? With the help of his new plans, people who deposited money got some of that money back! Almost 90% of the money returned eventually

WPA: Works Progress Administration• 1935• Women:

– Hired single women, widows, or women with husbands that couldn’t work to do sewing projects that were given away to hospitals and charities

– Arts programs and school cafeterias hired women through this as well

• Men:– Usually worked on construction projects as unskilled manual

laborers• The Federal Writer’s Project was one of the programs under

the WPA– People interviewed ex-slaves and wrote down their stories– There was a branch for Artists and Actors (theatre) too

AAA: Agricultural Adjustment Administration

• Goal: raise prices for goods (crops) through artificial scarcity– Farmers had had a tough time because prices for their crops or animals had gone so

low– Prices went low because supply was so high– If they could make the supply lower, they could make the price higher as well

• Six million baby pigs were kills and crops were destroyed– Farmers were paid to plow over their fields– This is at the same time that people were starving and couldn’t buy food… the

economy is a tricky thing to deal with on a nation-wide basis!• This program DID help with prices and farming incomes went up by a lot

because of this• The AAA was later ruled by the Supreme Court to be unconstitutional

– Today, the government protects farmers and prices by paying a portion of the price. This is called a subsidy

– Example: A pig usually sells for $50, but to be sustainable farmers need to make $75 on each pig. The government recognizes this, so they are willing to pay the farmers $25 for each pig they sell rather than let all the farmers go out of business.

CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps

• 1933• Goal: provide jobs to people who lived in the

cities and conserve the nation’s natural resources

• These men worked in national parks, forests, and the countryside

• They planted trees, made new parks, and dug irrigation canals

TVA: Tennessee Valley Authority

• 1933• Goal: Control flooding, provide cheap electricity, and

increase jobs in a very poor and rural area of Tennessee• Built dams along the Tennessee River• Electricity was provided, but it did not greatly decrease

the poverty of the region– This is still one of the poorest areas of America– Many are still without power and running water because they

simply can’t afford to install the equipment and pay the monthly fees

NRA: National Recovery Administration

• Goal: Lower unemployment by forcing people to hire more people to work the same jobs

• Leader of this, Hugh Johnson, asked business to promise:– Minimum wages from 20-45 cents/hour– MAXimum work week 35-45 hours– No child labor

• Businesses that agreed to this would get a little sign with a blue eagle on it to hang in their windows

• This eagle could draw in more customers because the business owner was “doing his part” in helping with the Depression

• The NRA was also found to be unconstitutional.

PWA: Public Works Administration

• Goal: Give people jobs while helping the communities grow

• Construction of large-scale projects like dams, bridges, airports, schools, hospitals, etc

• Built lots of public housing options in cities– These became The Projects– Known for high crime in some cities

Social Security Act

• Goal: provide retirement money, unemployment insurance, and welfare money for people with disabilities and low-income families

• This is still around today, though many are worried that the money will soon run out

• Tax comes out of paychecks each time and that money goes to pay for your social security when you get older– The money coming out of your paycheck ACTUALLY goes toward

paying for people retiring now– The money coming out of paychecks in 40 or so years will go

towards your retirement– Problem: There are more “baby-boomers” retiring now than

there are people paying into the system, so the money is being drained faster than it’s coming in

Critics and Opposition• Conservatives in America thought that the New Deal regulated

businesses too much and restricted individual freedom• Some Liberals thought that the New Deal didn’t go far enough• Supreme Court:

– Though many Americans were very happy with the changes FDR brought (and enthusiastically re-elected him), the Supreme Court wasn’t as excited

– When the Supreme Court declared the NRA and other New Deal plans unconstitutional, FDR tried to pack the court with 6 more judges that were on his side, claiming that the court was overworked and needed relief

– Congress would not vote for “court-packing plan,” but FDR was able to get one more judge on his side when a conservative justice resigned.

– Because FDR stayed in office so long, he eventually appointed 8 Supreme Court justices

The Big Picture: The Legacy of the New Deal

• The New Deal greatly increased the country’s debt and relied on a policy of deficit spending (where a country spends more money than it receives in taxes)

• The New Deal did not ultimately end the Great Depression (it was World War II that did this), but it did help millions of families survive, preserved parkland, and sponsored the creation of art and oral histories

• The New Deal greatly expanded the role of the government in business and in people’s lives. Though many of the programs dissolved after the Great Depression ended, the legacy of greater government involvement remained.

• The US survived the Great Depression with a democracy intact. Many European nations were not so lucky. They had turned to dictators to solve their problems… Next up: WWII!