Chapter 24 history outline. omg

8/7/2019 Chapter 24 history outline. omg

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Chapter 24: The New Deal

Launching the New Deal

Restoring Confidence: FDR

Ebullient personality. Projected an infectious optimism that helped alleviate growing despair First president to make use of radio in fireside chats

Helped build public confidence March 6, 1933, 2 days after taking office, issued a proclamation closing all American banks for 4 days

while Congress could meet to consider banking reform legislation

Created general sense of relief 3 days later, FDR sent Emergency Banking Act

Designed to protect larger banks from being dragged down by weakness of smaller ones Treasury department inspection of all banks before they were allowed to reopen, federal

assistance to troubled institutions, and reorganization of those in greatest difficulty

y Bill passed within 4 months of the banks in Federal Reserve reopened within next three days and $1 billion flowed

back into them within a month

After Emergency Banking Act passed, FDR sent in Economy Act Proposed to balance the federal budget by cutting the salaries of government employees and

reducing pensions to veterans by as much as 15 percent

Passed through almost instantly Also signed a bill to legalize the manufacture and sale ofbeer with a 3.2 percent alcohol content

21st amendment ratified later in 1933Agricultural Adjustment

Agricultural Adjustment Act passed inMay 1933 Provision for reducing crop production to end agricultural surpluses and halt the downward

spiral of farm prices

Producers of wheat, cotton, corn, hogs, rice, tobacco, and dairy products would decide onproduction limits for their crops. The government, through the Agricultural Adjustment

Administration, would then tell individual farmers how much they should produce andwould pay them subsidies for leaving some of their land idle.

y Tax on food processing would provide the funds for the new payments. AAA helped bring a rise in prices for farm commodities.

Gross farm income increased by half in the first three years of the New Deal However, AAA favored larger farmers over smaller ones

Distributed payments to landowners, not those who worked the land. January 1936, Supreme Court struck down crucial provisions of the AA Act, arguing the government

had no constitutional authority to require farmers to limit production

Within weeks, Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act was passed. Permitted government to pay farmers to reduce production so as to conserve soil, prevent

erosion, and accomplish other secondary goals

Resettlement Administration and Farm Security Administration provided loans to help farmerscultivating sub marginal soil to relocate to better lands

Rural Electrification Administration worked to make electric power available to farmers throughutility cooperatives

Industrial Recovery

Since 1931, leaders of US Chamber of Commerce had urged government to adopt an antideflationscheme that would permit trade associations to cooperate in stabilizing prices within their

industries.


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Antitrust laws forbade such practices and Hoover refused to endorse suspension of the laws FDR administration more lax In exchange for relaxing antitrust provisions, New Dealers insisted on other provisions.

Business leaders would have to make important concessions to labor (recognize workers rightto bargain collectively through unions) to ensure incomes of workers would rise along with

prices

Government also added major program of public works to help create jobs and increaseconsumer buying power

National Industrial Recovery Act passed in June 1933 National Recovery Administration, directed by Hugh S. Johnson, called on every business

establishment in the nation to accept a temporary blanket code, a minimum wage ofbetween 20

and 40 cents an hour, a max workweek of 35 to 40 hours, and abolition of child labor

Also negotiated more specific codes with leaders of the nations major industries Codes set floors below which no company would lower prices or wages in its search for a

competitive advantage.Won agreements from many industries in country

However, NRA encountered serious difficulties Codes were often hastily and poorly written. Administering them was beyond the capacities of federal officials with no prior experience in

running so vast a program

Large producers consistently dominated the code-writing process and ensured that newregulations would work to their advantage and to the disadvantage of smaller firms

Codes did more than simply set floors under prices, they actively and artificially raised them,sometimes to higher levels than the market could sustain

Section 7a of Nation Industrial Recovery Act promised workers the right to form unions andengage in collective bargaining and encouraged many workers to join unions for the first time,

but it contained no enforcement mechanisms

Recognition ofunions by employers did not follow PublicWorks Administration established to administer the NIRAs spending programs.

Only allowed $3.3 billion in public works fund to trickle out

Industrial production declined in the months after the NRAs establishment Besieged by criticism, and businessmen were flaunting many of its provisions. FDR pressured Johnson to resign and established a new board of directors to oversee NRA 1935, Supreme Court intervened

Case came before the court involving NRA code violationsby the Schechter brothers, whooperated wholesale poultry business in Brooklyn, New York.

Court ruled unanimously that the Schechters were not engaged in interstate commerce andnot subject to federal regulation and that Congress had unconstitutionally delegated

legislation power to the president to draft NRA codes

Justices struck down legislation establishing the agency. FDR denounced court judgesRegional Planning

AAA and NRA largely reflected beliefs of New Dealers who favored economic planning but wantedprivate interests to dominate planning process

Tennessee Valley Authority Progressive reformers had agitated for years for public development of nations water resources

as a source of cheap electric power.

Urged completion of a great dam at Muscle Shoals on Tennessee River in Alabama.y Opposition from utility companies had been too powerful to overcome

1932 electricity magnate Samuel Insull collapsed amid widely publicized exposes of corruption.


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Hostility to utilities grew so intense that companies were no longer able to block the publicpower movement

Tennessee Valley Authority was authorized to complete the dam at Muscle Shoals and buildothers in the region and to generate and sell electricity from them to the public at reasonable

rates.

Also intended to be an agent for a comprehensive redevelopment of the entire region:stopping the disastrous flooding, encouraging the development of local industries,

supervising a substantial program of reforestation, and helping farmers to improve

productivity.

TVA revitalized region in numerous ways. Improved water transportation, eliminated flooding the region, and provided electricity to

thousands who had never before had it

TVAs cheap production of electricity made private power rates declineCurrency, Banks, and the Stock Market

FDR soon came to consider the gold standard a major obstacle to the restoration of adequate prices April 18, 1983, president made shift off the gold standard official with an executive order Before and after decision, administration had experimented in various ways with manipulating value

of dollar Resort to government-managed currency created an important precedent for future federal policies

and permanently altered relationship between the public and private sectors.

Did not have an immediate impact on depressed American economy Glass-Steagall Act ofJune 1933 gave government authority to curb irresponsible speculation by

banks.

Established Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which guaranteed all bank deposits up to$2500

1935, Congress passed major banking act that transferred much of the authority once wielded bythe regional Federal Reserve banks to the Federal Reserve Board in Washington

Truth in Securities Act passed to protect investors in the stock market

Required corporations issuing new securities to provide full and accurate information aboutthem to the public

Another act established Securities and Exchange Commission to police the stock market Was an indication of how far the financial establishment had fallen in public estimation Criminal trials of a number of respectedWall Street figures for grand larceny and fraud eroded

public stature of financial community further

The Growth of Federal Relief

Federal Emergency Relief Administraion provided cash grants to states to prop up bankrupt reliefagencies

FDR chose the director of New York State relief agency, Harry Hopkins to lead it. Dispersed FERAgrants widely and rapidly

Both felt more comfortable with another form of government assistance: work relief When it became clear FERA grants were not enough, administration established a second program.

Civil Works Administration Put more than 4 million people to work on temporary projects Some projects were of lasting value

y Construction of roads, schools, and parks Others were more make-work

Important thing was pumping money into an economy badly in need of it Roosevelts favorite relief project was Civilian Conservation Corps


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Designed to provide employment to millions of young men who could find no jobs in the cities Created camps in national parks and forests and in other rural and wilderness settings

Young men worked in a semi military environment on such projects as planting trees,building reservoirs, developing parks, and improving agricultural irrigation

camps were segregated by race Farm Credit Administration refinanced 1/5 of all farm mortgages in US within two years Frazier-Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act enabled some farmers to regain their land even after

foreclosure on their mortgages

Despite efforts, 25% of all farm owners had lost their land by 1934 HomeOwners Load Corporation refinanced mortgages of more than 1 million householders Federal Housing Administration established to insure mortgages for new construction and home

repairs

The New Deal in Transition

Enjoyed remarkable popularity during his first two years in office By early 1935, with no end to Depression in sight, New Deal found itself target of fierce public

criticism

In spring of 1935, FDR launched an ambitious new program of legislation that has often beencalled the second New Deal

Critics of the New Deal

FDR tried for a time to conciliate conservative s and business leaders By 1934, it was clear the American right and much of the corporate world had become

irreconcilably hostile to the New Deal

American Liberty League formed specifically to arouse public opposition to the new deals dictatorialpolicies and its supposed attacks on free enterprise

Never able to expand Communist Party, Socialist Party, and other radical and semi radical organizations were at times

harshly critical of the New Deal.

They failed to attract genuine mass support, too

Dr. Francis E. Townsend, an elderly California physician, rose from obscurity to lead a movement ofmore than 5 million members with his plan for federal pensions for the elderly

Townsend Plan All Americans over age of 60 would receive monthly government pensions of $200, provided

they retired and spent the money in full each month.

y Would open new jobs for younger, unemployed Americans and would pump neededfunds into the economy

Attracted support of many older men and women Made little progress in Congress, but public sentiment behind it helped build support for the

Social Security system, approved in 1935

Father Charles E. Coughlin, a catholic priest in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, Michigan, achievedeven greater renown through his weekly sermonsbroadcast nationally over the radio

Became notorious for his sympathy for fascism and his outspoken anti-Semitism Known primarily as an advocate for changing the banking and currency systems Proposed a series of monetary reforms

Remonetization of silver, issuing of greenbacks, and nationalization of the banking systemy Insisted these would restore prosperity and ensure economic justice

At first supported FDR, but later became disheartened by what he claimed was the presidentsfailure to deal harshly enough with the money powers.

Established his own political organization, National Union for Social Justice


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Widely believed to have one of the largest regular radio audiences of anyone in America Senator Huey P. Long ofLouisiana also gained national popularity

Rose to power in his state through his strident attacks on banks, oil companies, and utilities andon the conservative political oligarchy allied with them

As governor in 1928, launched an assault on his opponents so thorough and forceful that theywere soon left with virtually no political power

Many claimed he had become a dictator Maintained overwhelming support ofLouisiana electorate because of his flamboyant personality

and because of his solid record of conventional progressive accomplishments

Building roads, schools, and hospitals Revising tax codes, distributing free textbooks, lowering utility rates

Ran for a seat in US Senate and easily won in 1930 Supported FDR in 1932 but broke with him after 6 months Advocated a drastic program of wealth redistribution

Share-Our-Wealth Plan Claimed government could end Depression easily by using the tax system to confiscate surplus

riches of the wealthiest men and women in American distribute these surpluses to the rest of

the population It would allow the government to guarantee every family a minimum homestead of $5000

and an annual wage of $2500

Established the Share-Our-Wealth Society in 1934 Soon attracted a large following through much of the nation

Could attract more than 10 percent of the vote if he ran as a third-party candidate for presidentThe Second New Deal

Launched Second New Deal in response to growing political pressures and continuing economiccrisis

Represented a shift in emphasis of New Deal policy Most conspicuous change was in attitude toward big business

President now willing to attack corporate interests openlyy InMarch, proposed to Congress an act designed to break up the great utility holding

companies and spoke harshly of monopolistic control of their industry

j Holding Company Act of 1935 was the result Furious lobbying by utilities led to amendments the limited its effects

To undercut appeal ofHuey Longs Share-Our-Wealth Plan, FDR proposals called for establishing thehighest and most progressive peacetime tax rates in history

Actual impact of rates was limited Senator Robert E. Wagner of New York introduced National Labor Relations Act.

Wagner Act provided workers with a crucial enforcement mechanism missing from NIRA National Labor Relations Board would have power to compel employers to recognize and

bargain with legitimate unions

President not happy with bill but signed it anywayy Did it for American people

LaborMilitancy

Emergence of a powerful trade union movement was one of the most important social and politicaldevelopments of the decade

Was a result of the increased militancy of American workers and their leaders American Federation ofLabor remained committed to idea of craft union, organizing workers on

basis of their skills


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Was not offered to unskilled workers Industrial unionism challenged the craft union ideal

Argued all workers in an industry should be organized in a single union regardless of whatfunctions the workers performed

Autoworkers in single automobile union, steelworkers in a single steel union, etc. Leaders of AFL craft unions opposed the new concept John L. Lewis, leader of United MineWorkers, supported industrial unionism

Attempted to work within AFLbut friction grew between him and AFL Got into fights with older craft unions and walked out of AFL

Created Committee on IndustrialOrganization AFL expelled new committee and all industrial unions it represented

Renamed Congress of IndustrialOrganizations Directly rivaled AFL John Lewis became the first president More receptive to women and blacks then AFL More militant than AFL Engaged in major organizing battles in automobile and steel industries

Organizing Battles United AutoWorkers emerged preeminent in early and mid-1930s

In December 1936, autoworkers employed a controversial and effective new technique forchallenging corporate opposition. The Sit-Down Strike

Employees in several GM plants in Detroit simply sat down inside plants and refused to work orleave, preventing the company from using strikebreakers

Tactic spread to other locations and by February, strikers had occupied 17 GM plants While males remained in factories, women supporters demonstrated on behalf of the strikers,

lobbied on their behalf with state and local officials, and provided food, clothing, and other

necessities to the men inside

Strikers ignored court orders and local police efforts to force them to vacate buildings

WhenMichigans governor refused to call up National Guard and federal government refused tointervene on behalf of employers, GM relented

Became first major manufacturer to recognize UAW Other automobile companies soon did the same

Sit-down strike was effective but abandoned because of public opposition Steel WorkersOrganizing Committee began major organizing drive involving thousands of workers

and frequent strikes

US steel recognized the union rather than risk a costly strike at a time when it sensed itself onthe verge of recovery from Depression

Little Steel companies less accommodating Memorial Day 1937, striking workers from Republic Steel gather for a picnic and demonstration

in South Chicago

When they attempted to march peacefully toward steel plant, police opened fire on themy 10 killed, 90 wounded

Harsh tactics ofLittle Steel companies succeeded, but later recognized the unionsSocial Security

Passed in 1935, established several distinct programs Present destitute could receive up to $15 a month in federal assistance Many Americans incorporated into a pension system, to which they would contribute by paying a

payroll tax


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It would provide them with an income on retirement Pension payments would not begin until 1942 Broad categories of workers were excluded from the program Created a system ofunemployment insurance

Made it possible for workers laid off to receive temporary government assistance Also established a limited system of federal aid to people with disabilities and a program of aid to

dependent children

Provided considerable direct assistance based on need to the elderly poor, those with disabilities,and dependent children and their mothers

New Directions in Relief

FDR administration establishedWorks Progress Administration in 1935 Established a system of work relief for unemployed

Under direction ofHarry Hopkins, built or renovated 110,000 public building, andconstructed almost 600 airports, more than 500,000 miles of roads, and over 100,000

bridges.

Kept an average of 2.1 million workers employed and pumped needed money into theeconomy

Displayed remarkable flexibility and imagination in offering assistance to those whoseoccupations did not fit into any traditional category of relief

FederalWriters Project ofWPA gave unemployed writers a chance to do their work andreceive a government salary

Federal Arts Project helped painters, sculptors, and others to continue their careers FederalMusic Project and Federal Theater Project oversaw production of concerts and

plays, creating work for unemployed musicians, actors, and directors.

National Youth Administration provided work and scholarship assistance to high school andcollege-age men and women

Emergency Division of the PublicWorks Administration began federal sponsorship of publichousing

New welfare system differed for men and women Men were concentrated in work relief programs Women concentrated in cash assistance

Aid to Dependent Children program of Social SecurityThe 1936 Referendum

By middle 1936, economy was visibly reviving No doubt that FDR would win a second term

Republican nominated moderate governor ofKansas, AlfM. Landon Agreed with FDRs plans but criticized his spending

FDRs challengers appeared powerless One reason was assassination ofHuey Long, who wouldve drawn voters Another was alliance of Father Coughlin, Dr. Townsend, and Gerald L. K. Smith to form the Union

Party

Nominated undistinguished North Dakota congressman,William Lemke, for president Result was greatest landslide in American history to that point

FDR carried every state except Maine and Vermont Democrats increased majorities in both houses of Congress Union party received fewer than 900,000 votes


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Democrats now controlled coalition of western and southern farmers, urban working classes, poorand unemployed, and black communities of northern cities, as well as traditional progressives and

committed new liberals

The New Deal in Disarray

The Court Fight

FDR believed Supreme Court would not allow him to pass acts like NRA and AAA February 1967, FDR sent message to Capitol Hill proposing general overhaul of federal court

system

Included adding 6 new justices to Supreme Court Claimed courts were overworked and need additional manpower and younger blood to

enable them to cope with increasing burdens

y Real purpose was to allow himself to appoint new, liberal justices and changeideological balance of the Court

Conservatives outraged by court-packing plan Bill was never passed because justices became more liberal FDR took it as a victory, but it did lasting political damage to the administration

y Southern Democrats and conservatives voted against FDRs measures more oftenRetrenchment and Recession By summer of 1937, national income had risen slowly to $72 billion FDR, prompted my Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau and other economists, thought

Depression was no longer a danger and cut WPA in half.

Laid off 1.5 million relief workers A few weeks later, Boom collapsed

4 million workers lost their jobs Roosevelt recession was a result of many factors

Seemed to be a direct result of administrations unwise decision to reduce spending April 1938, president asked Congress for $5 billion for public works and relief programs Within few months, economy started to rise again

Roosevelt then sent a message to Congress asking for creation of commission to examineconcentration of economic power with an eye to major reforms in the antitrust laws Congress established the Temporary National Economic Committee Roosevelt also appointed a new head of antitrust division ofJustice Department

Thurman Arnold proved to be most vigorous director to ever serve that role Fair Labor Standards Act established national minimum wage and 40 hour work week

Also placed strict limits on child labor By the end of 1938, the New Deal came to an end FDR growing more concerned with persuading a nation to prepare for warLimits and Legacies of the New Deal

The Idea of the Broker State

New Dealers wanted to remake American capitalism Produce new forms of cooperation and control the would create a genuinely harmonious,

ordered economic world

Did not happen, but they accepted what they accomplished Real achievement of New Deal was to elevate and strengthen new interest groups to allow them to

compete more effectively in the national marketplace

Made the federal government a mediator to help groups that needed help and to limit others Made the federal government a protector of interest groups and a supervisor of the competition

among them, rather than an instrument attempting to create a universal harmony of interests


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African Americans and the New Deal

New Deal did relatively little to assist blacks, but was not hostile to them Eleanor Roosevelt spoke on behalf of racial justice and put pressure on her husband to ease

discrimination against blacks

When singerMarian Anderson was refused permission to give a concert in auditorium of theDaughters of the American Revolution, Eleanor resigned and secured permission for her to sing on

steps ofLincolnMemorial

Andersons concert became one of the first modern civil rights demonstrations President appointed a number ofblacks to significant second-level positions in his administration

RobertWeaver,William Hastie, andMaryMcLeod Bethune became known as the BlackCabinet

Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, and Harry Hopkins made efforts to ensure that New Deal programsdid not exclude blacks

Most blacks by that time had switched to voting for Democrats Supported FDR because they knew he was not their enemy

Knew the New Deal changed American race relations FDR would not risk losing backing of southern Democrats by supporting legislation to make

lynching a federal crime Would not endorse a ban on poll tax that kept blacks from voting New Deal relief agencies reinforced existing patterns of discrimination Civilian Conservation Corps established separate black camps NRA codes tolerated paying blacks less than whites doing the same jobs Excluded employment in the TVA Federal Housing Administration refused to provide mortgages to blacks moving into white

neighborhoods

First public housing projects were racially segregated New Deal not hostile to blacks and helped them advance, but refused to make issue of race part of

its agenda

The New Deal and the Indian Problem 1930s still tried to assimilate native Americans into society and culture New Deal plans led by commissioner of Indian affairs, John Collier

Promoted legislation the he hoped would reverse pressures on native Americans to assimilateand allow them the right to live in traditional Indian ways

Indian Reorganization Act restored to the tribes the right to own land collectivelyWomen and the New Deal

New Deal was not hostile to women, but did not do much to advance them Was because it did not have widespread support and would not benefit the administration

significantly

Roosevelt appointed first female cabinet member in nations history, Secretary ofLabor FrancesPerkins

Named more than 100 other women to positions at lower levels of federal bureaucracy Cooperated with another to advance causes of interest to women

Eleanor Roosevelt pressured FDR to advance causes of women Molly Dewson was head of the Womens Division of the Democratic National Committee

Influential in securing federal appointments for women Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became first woman ever elected to full term in US Senate New Deal women had limited views of what their aims should be

Created support for Social Security Act


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Chapter 24 history outline. omg