The Great Depression and the

New DealChapter 34by Skyler Burkhart

New Deal Acronyms Chart

Because there are so many reforms and acts of legislation during the age of the "New Deal", here is a chart to assist you throughout the chapter.

http://americanhistory.about.com/

library/glossary/blglossnewdeal.htm

Election of 1932

• because of the rise in unemployment and poverty, President Hoover was becoming increasingly less popular

• The Republican party nominated Herbert Hoover

• The Democrats nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)oborn into wealthy family owas the governer of New York state

 

FDR: Politician in a Wheelchair

Franklin Delano Rooselvelt•  he had a very mature and

wise presence•  he was considered "the

premier American orator of the generation" (he was an extremely talented public speaker)

 Eleanor Roosevelt• wife of FDR• considered the "most active

First Lady in history"• she fought for equality for

the poor and oppressed  

Presidential Hopefuls of 1932• Roosevelt disliked the Republican Old Deal and sought to "preach

a new deal for the forgotten man" in the Election of 1932o  he wanted to settle the nation's economic issueso  also wanted to decrease "Hoovarian deficits"

•  many Americans lost trust in Republicans because of the nation's failing economy, but Herbert Hoover still held onto hope that the worst of the Great Depression was over

• Herbert Hoover fought for American businesses and individualism 

Hoover's Humiliation in 1932

• Roosevelt beat Hoover by a landslide in the Election of 1932

• Blacks began to become a major part of the Democratic party, mostly located in the urban regions of the North

Blue:  FDRRed:   Hoover

The Three R's: Relief, Recovery, and Reform

• The Hundred Days Congress (Emergency Congress)o declared by FDR only 2 days after his inaguration o lasted from March 6-10, 1933o the Congress decided to pass laws that would deal directly with

the Great Depression•  Roosevelt's New Deal program (the 3 R's)

o Reliefo Recoveryo Reform

• Blank-Check Powerso given by Congress to give legislative power to the presidento new progressive ideas emerged, such as a minimum wage,

insurance for the elderly and unemployed, and conservation of natural resources.

"I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people."

                                                               -Franklin D. Roosevelt

Roosevelt Tackles Money and Banking

• Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933o passed by Congress because of

the dire need for a financial solution

o this act gave the president a lot of financial power. For example, regulate transactions as well as foreign financial affairs.

o "Fireside Chats" given by Roosevelt  these chats started to rebuild

the American people's faith in banks

Roosevelt Tackles Money and Banking (cont.)

Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act created the...  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

o stated that individual banking accounts would be insured up to $5,000

o this ended the "banking failure epidemic"• Roosevelt encouraged paper currency and weaned the nation off

of the gold standard• Roosevelt hoped for inflation 

o would rid of debt burdenso would increase new production

• Inflation = buying gold = increased gold price = increased $ price = more money in circulation

Creating Jobs for the Jobless• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

o gave jobs to about 3 million men in government campso some of the jobs included fire fighting, flood control, and various

public service duties• Federal Emergency Relief Act created the Federal Emergency Relief

Administration (FERA)o led by Harry L. Hopkinso the agency granted about $3 billion to giving wages to workers

for service jobs• Civil Works Administration (CWA, a branch of the FERA)

o created in order to give temporary jobs during the wintero thousands of unemployed were given manual labor jobs (ex.

raking leaves, etc)• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

o helped farmers meet their mortgages by paying thousands of $$• Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC)

o helped those who struggled to pay their mortgages

Camp Roosevelt

Some of the men that worked at a Civil

Conservation Camp

A Day for Every Demagogue• As with every presidency, there were some who greatly opposed

Roosevelt's "New Deal". For example, o Father Charles Coughlin 

would give "Anti-New Deal" radio broadcasts which were very anti-Semitic and harsh

he had to be taken off of the airo Senator Huey P. Long

creator of the "share the wealth" program this program gave each U.S. family $5,000 he was assassinated in 1935, ceasing the program

o Dr. Francis E. Townsend stated that every citizen over 60 years old would be granted

$200/month senior citizens <3'd the Doc

• Works Progress Administration (WPA)o created in 1935 with the intention of employing many for "useful

projects", such as constructiono taxpayers did not favor this organization because they felt that

they were paying people to do useless and unproductive jobs

A Helping Hand for Industry and Labor

Several organizations were designed with the intention of assisting workers• National Recovery Administration (NRA)

o assisted both laborers and the unemployedo also assisted organizationso minimum wage was established, as well as equal hours for more

employeeso employees were earning the right to establish a workplace of their

choosing, as opposed to the company's choosingo the NRA failed in 1935

Schechter Poultry Corp v. United States declared that legislative powers could not be granted to the president by Congress

• Public Works Administration (PWA)o aimed to assist the unemployed as well as recover the industrial worldo Harold L. Ickes lead PWAo over $4 billion was spent on public projects that would benefit citizens

• 21st Amendment, prohibition, was appealed in 1933 in order to provide jobs and increase federal profit

    

Paying Farmers Not to Farm• Agricultural Adjustment

Administration (AAA)o created by Congresso established "parity prices" (a set

price for a product) o farmers were paid to eliminate

surpluses by reducing their crops. This increased unemployment

o  in 1936, the Supreme Court declared the AAA unconstitutional

• Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act of 1936o passed by the New Deal Congress o farmers were paid to plant soil-

preserving cropso this led to the natural reduction of

crops (eliminating surpluses)• Second Agricultural Adjustment of

1938o basically stated that if farmers

followed the previous acts, such as soil conservation, they would be rewarded with parity payments

FDR signing the Soil Conservation and

Domestic Allotment Act of 1936

Dust Bowls and Black Blizzards

• Dust Bowl of 1933o a drought that mostly affected the Mississippi Great Plainso caused by too many cultivated acres, as well as "dry

farming techniques"• Frazier-Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act, 1934

o intended to suspend mortgage forclosures for 5 yearso the Supreme Court did not approve and shut it down in

1935• Resettlement Administration, 1935

o created by Roosevelto moved farmers to more prosperous lands in order to

restart their farming career• Indian Reorganization Act of 1934

o an act that was passed to reignite and preserve the Native American culture

o 77 tribes did not conform to the request under the law, but hundreds of other tribes agreed

Dust Bowl Video

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2CiDaUYr90

Battling Bankers and Big Business

• Truth in Securities Act (aka, Federal Securities Act)o created by Congress to protect citizens from

fraudo the act required that companies selling

products had to swear to their information regarding their stocks and intentions

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)o created by Congress to be a "watchdog"

agencyo was passed in 1934

The TVA Harnesses the Tennessee River

• Muscle Shoals was a location near the Tennessee River in which around 2.5 million of Americas impoverished lived. The government hoped to construct a dam on the Tennessee River, providing both energy and jobs for the poor in Muscle Shoals.

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)o created by the Hundred Days Congress in 1933o was created to estimate the cost of both production

and distribution of electricity• Muscle Shoals began to flourish rapidly as one of the

most upcoming areas in the U.S.o countless jobs o cheap electricityo low cost of livingo restored soil and growing land

Dam on the Tennessee River

Housing Reform and Social Security

• Federal Housing Administration (FHA)o created by Roosevelt to increase economic and

housing recovery• United States Housing Authority (USHA)

o created to lend money to communities for construction and rebuilding

• Social Security Act of 1935o retired workers were given payments from

Washingtono also provided for unemployment insuranceo republicans strongly opposed the Social Security

Acto the government was beginning to understand the

concept of welfare for citizens

A New Deal for Unskilled Labor

• Congress had sympathy for labor unions when the Supreme Court criticized the NRAo the National Labor Relations Act of1935 (Wagner Act) was created,

in addition to the National Labor Relations Boardo reassured that workers could self-organize and elect their own

representatives• Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), 1935

o lead by John L. Lewiso they striked several times, including the famous "sit-down strike" at

General Motors automobile factory• Fair Labor Standards Act (Wages and Hours Bill), 1938

o minimum-wage and minimum-hour levels were establishedo children under 16 were forbidden to work

• The CIO and the AFofL joined together in 1938 to create the Congress for Industrial Organizations. John Lewis continued to lead

Landon Challenges "the Champ" in 1936

• Election of 1936o "New Dealers" had grown immensely popular and government

was becoming appreciated by citizenso Republicans chose to run Alfred M. Landon against the

Democratic re-nominee of Franklin D. Roosevelt• Roosevelt won because of his appeal to the "forgotten man"

o included minorities such as blacks and the pooro his new ideas continued to appeal to most of the debt-stricken

nationo his victory was considered "lopsided"

Blue:  FDRRed:  Landon

Nine Old Men on the Supreme Bench

• 20th Amendment -->the time between the election and the inauguration was shortened by 6 weeks, so Roosevelt took his inauguration early.

• Roosevelt believed that since he was reelected, the American public must favor the "New Deal" philosophyo he declared that the Supreme Court must become one with

public opinion in order to preserve American life• Roosevelt proposed a plan to Congress that requested legislative

power to elect a new Supreme Court justice for every member 70 years+ that would not retireo the plan received a very negative responseo this was to the surprise of many

The Court Changes Course

• Roosevelt began to be taunted for his attempt to bust the checks and balances system within government

• Justice Owen J. Roberts began to vote liberal, even though he was once a strong conservativeo the Supreme Court began to uphold many laws and acts, such

as a minimum wage for women the National Labor Relations Act the Social Security Act

o Roosevelt elected 9 new justices to court after many deaths and resignations

• nearing the end of his presidency, FDR began to annoy and arouse many Conservatives. Not many New Deal reforms were passed after 1937.

The Twilight of the New Deal

• although Roosevelt did assist in recovery from economic debt, his first term still ran an extremely high unemployment rate.

• In 1937, the Social Security taxes began to create a downturn in the economy

• Roosevelt often looked to assistance from British economist, John Maynard Keyneso "Keynesianism" was an economic program that intended to

recover the economy with planned spending• Reorganization Act

o gave FDR limited powers in administration, even in the executive branch in the White House

• Hatch Act of 1939o prohibited the use of government funds for political

campaigningo restricted federal officials from actively campaigning

New Deal or Raw Deal?

• criticizers of the New Deal claimed that FDR only increased the national debt by spending too much money on reform programs

• the New Deal only temporarily covered up the wounds of the Great Depression, as opposed to actually solving the problems

• high unemployment rates would not truly be solved until WWII

FDR'S Balance Sheet

• Roosevelt was not hurt by the New Deal criticizers because he strongly believed in a government that simply managed the economy

• According to FDR, the government was "morally bound" to provide for the citizens

• In conclusion, Franklin D. Roosevelt favored big government but had a heart for the common man.