13.2 THE SECOND NEW DEAL

OBJECTIVES

•Discuss the programs of social and economic reform in the Second New Deal• Explain how the New Deal legislation affected the growth of organized labor•Describe the impact of Roosevelt’s court-packing plan on the course of the New Deal

SECOND NEW DEAL

• Addressed problems of the elderly, the poor, and the unemployed• Created new public-works projects, helped farmers, and protected workers’ rights

NEW PROGRAMS

•Works Progress Administration (WPA)• $5 billion for new jobs• Built/improved highways, rivers,

promoted soil and H20 conservation• Caused the federal deficit to grow • Who was the economist that would be in favor

of this?! • Pump priming

SOCIAL SECURITY

• Social Security Act (SSA)-• Unemployment insurance for people who

lost jobs• Insurance for victims of work-related

accidents• Aid for poverty-stricken moms/children,

blind, disabled

MORE AID TO FARMERS

•Rural Electrification Admin. (REA)• Loaned money to electric utilities to build power lines to isolated areas• Success! 1950-more than 80% of farms had power!

LABOR UNIONS

•New Rights to workers• Wagner Act: recognized the right of

employees to join labor unions and created Collective Bargaining• Fair Labor Standards Act: minimum

wage, max workweek hrs., outlawed child labor

WORKERS USE THEIR RIGHTS!

• Feud within AFL-few workers belonged and little effort to organize• Congress of Industrial Organizations

(CIO)• New union • Sit-down strike in GM plant

CHALLENGES TO NEW DEAL

• Supreme Court-• Said the NIRA was unconstitutional, also part of

AAA• Court Packing• FDR wanted to dilute the power of current

Justices• Called for adding 6 more Justices • But! Court started passing FDRs laws• “switch in time to save 9”

ECONOMIC DOWNTURN=CONSERVATIVE GAINS

• Economy doing better, FDR reduces spending• Miscalculated!• Feds raise interest rates-makes it difficult for

businesses to expand• Economy in a tailspin!

• 1938-Conservatives make gain in congress• FDR-not pushing any more reforms

CCC WORKERS IN ALASKA, 1939