PowerPoint Presentation

FDR and The New Deal

Franklin D. RooseveltA wealthy New Yorker and distant relative of Theodore RooseveltIn 1921 he was stricken with polioFor the rest of his life, he depended on steel leg braces to stand upRoosevelt never allowed photos of him in a wheel chairMost Americans never knew his legs were paralyzed

FDR

In 1928, he was elected governor of New YorkFour years later, the Democrats nominated him to run for PresidentDuring the Campaign he pledged, A new deal for the American People.The results were overwhelming: Roosevelt won 472 to 59He won 57.4 percent of the popular voteNew DealOn March 4, 1933, supported by his sons arm, he took the oath of office and then addressed the American publicSo, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.The American people were encouraged by his confidence

Bank Holiday

FDR quickly went into actionThe day after he took office, Roosevelt declared a bank holiday, a four day closing of the nations banksIts goal was was to halt the nationwide epidemic of bank failuresThe holiday gave home time to purpose an Emergency Banking Relief Act, which provided more careful government regulation of banksFireside ChatsTo restore the nations confidence in banks, Roosevelt delivered his first of many Fire side chats or radio talksAmericans across the country would tune into the radio to listen to him speakThe next day, many of the nations banks reopened with customers beginning to redeposit their savings Its safer to keep your money in a reopened bank then under a mattress.

The New Deal: The First 100 Days

To decide what legislation to send to Congress, Roosevelt conferred with a group of advisors he called the brain trust During his first 100 days in office, Congress passed and he signed 15 new BillsThe new deal had three goals:Relief for the joblessEconomic recoveryReforms to prevent future depressions Unemployment ReliefSome measures helped the unemployed by providing financial assistance The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was createdFERA was created to grant fund to states so they could reopen troubled relief agencies

Unemployment Relief Cont.

Other programs employed jobless adultsThe Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) hired city dwellers to work in national parks, wilderness areas and the countrysideMillions of young men planted trees, built reservoirs, constructed parks and dug irrigation canals Unemployment Relief Cont.Another program, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) put people to work building or repairing public buildingsWPA workers paved 650,000 miles of road, raised more then 75,000 bridges and built more then 800 airportsThe WPA hired artists to paint murals and writers to write state guidelines and histories.

Promoting Economic Recovery

FDR faced an enormous challengeHe needed to help two sectors of the economy recover:IndustryAgriculture NRA The National Recovery Administration aimed to keep prices stable while boosting employment and buying powerMost major industries agreed to:pay workers a minimum wageto stop hiring children to keep wages and prices from falling to low The NRA succeeded in raising prices But critics charged that it failed to boost the economy

PWA

The Public Works Administration was granted more than $3 billion to build large public works projectsThe PWA improved the nations infrastructure and employed many peoplePWA projects included: New Yorks Lincoln tunnel and Floridas Key West HighwayNearly every county in the nation could boast at least one PWA projectEven so, the depression continued TVAThe Tennessee Valley Authority was created by Congress to build dams along the Tennessee RiverPlanners believed the dams would control flooding, provide cheap electricity, and increase jobs and prosperity in one of the countrys poorest rural areas The TVA accomplished its major goals, it lit thousands of farms that never before had enjoyed electricity Still, it failed to relieve the areas povertyOthers have critized the TVA for driving some property owners of their landStill, in the 1930s, the TVA was very popular

Reforming the Economic System The third part of his plan aimed to prevent future depressionsThe Truth-in-Securities Act required corporations to inform the public fully about their stocksThe Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protected bank depositorsIt guaranteed deposits up to $2,500The Federal Power Commission helped control the oil and gas industriesThe New Deal strengthened the power of the Food and Drug Administration to ensure product safety

Obstacles Millions were enthusiastic about the New DealHe won the 1936 election by a wide marginHowever, the New Deal faced a major challenge in the Supreme CourtIn 1935 and 1936, The supreme Court declared several New Deal measures unconstitutional

Stacking the Court

FDR proposed appointing up to 6 more Supreme Court justicesHe claimed he wanted to help the overworked justicesCritics claimed he was trying to gain a majority of justicesCongress embarrassed the President by rejecting his planHowever, in 1937 a conservative judge retired and FDR was able to appoint a liberal in his placeFDR eventually named 8 Supreme Court justices